China's Wang Xinyu reaches WTA singles final with stunning run in Berlin

BERLIN, June 21 (Xinhua) -- China's Wang Xinyu continued her sensational form on grass courts, storming into her first-ever WTA Tour singles final with a straight-sets victory over world No. 20 Liudmila Samsonova in the semifinals of the WTA 500 Berlin Open on Saturday.

The 23-year-old battled through early nerves in the opening set, exchanging breaks with Samsonova before steadying herself under pressure. After being broken mid-set, Wang responded immediately with a break of her own and went on to take the first set 6-4.

Carrying that momentum into the second set, Wang dominated with aggressive returns and consistent baseline play. Samsonova, plagued by unforced errors, was unable to mount a comeback, and Wang closed out the match convincingly with a 6-1 win.

"This week has been a dream for me. I've been playing unbelievable tennis here," Wang said in her on-court interview. "Coming into every match here, I wasn't expecting anything. For me, it was really just to enjoy the stage."

Wang's breakthrough performance has been one of the standout stories of the grass-court season. After navigating two rounds of qualifying, Wang ousted world No. 16 Daria Kasatkina in the first round, then stunned newly-crowned French Open champion and world No. 2 Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3 for her first career victory against a top-two player.

In the quarterfinals, Wang took the first set 6-1 before Paula Badosa was forced to retire due to injury. Her win over Samsonova marked her fourth consecutive victory over a top-20 opponent this week, underlining her rise on the WTA Tour and establishing a new personal best on grass.

Wang will face 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in Sunday's final, who earlier defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the other semifinal. ■