Cristina Bucsa had it all her own way while Victoria Mboko was forced to fight a friend for supremacy as each booked a place in the final of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open on Saturday.
Mboko, 19, looked to be heading out of the tournament when under assault from a laser-focused Leylah Fernandez in an all-Canadian encounter at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium.
Flying at a set and 2-1 up in a high-quality second semi-final, Fernandez called for the physiotherapist before returning to the fray with her lower right thigh bandaged, her aura damaged and Mboko emboldened. The teen powered through 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Earlier, Bucsa raced into Sunday’s showpiece, brushing aside an out-of-sorts Maya Joint in straight sets. Mboko got the better of the Spaniard in their only previous meeting, but has seen for herself in the past few days how quickly fortunes can change.
Leylah Fernandez was in charge of her semi-final until she called for the physio. Photo: Dickson Lee
“You need to have some sort of self-confidence in yourself regardless of what results went before,” Mboko said of Bucsa.
