Jelena Ostapenko reaches Korea Open final after Emma Raducanu forfeits

Jelena Ostapenko triumphed over former US Open champion Emma Raducanu to advance to the finals of the Hana Bank Korea Open, securing an automatic win after Raducanu pulled out of the match due to a left glute injury in the third set.

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia returns the ball to Emma Raducanu of Britain during their women's singles semifinal match at the Korea Open in Seoul on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Jelena Ostapenko triumphed over former US Open champion Emma Raducanu to advance to the finals of the Hana Bank Korea Open, securing an automatic win after Raducanu pulled out of the match due to a left glute injury in the third set.

The Latvian top seed, currently ranked at No. 19 in the world and a Grand Slam champion herself, will face Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia on Sunday in the finals of the tournament.

Emma Raducanu of Britain returns a shot to Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia during their semifinal match at the Korea Openin Seoul on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Raducanu, who seemed to suffer from discomfort in her thigh area in the second set, gave up play in the third set while three games down to Ostapenko. This put an end to the former US Open champion’s streak of three straight wins at Seoul’s Olympic Park Tennis Center.

Ostapenko set off with an early lead at 2-0 in the first set before Raducanu brought up the score to 2-2. Both players held their games up to 4-4, until Raducanu broke Ostapenko, throwing in a splendid down-the-line forehand to do so. Ostapenko erased two set points before Raducanu finished off the set with a strong serve that her opponent failed to hit over the net.

The second set kicked off with two holds from both players, before Ostapenko handed Raducanu two break points which the latter easily converted into a break. Ostapenko evened the score by breaking right back, before showing off a massive hold at forty-love.

Raducanu seemed to suffer discomfort in her thigh area and took a lengthy medical timeout before the match recommenced in the sixth game. The medical did not seem to have helped, and Raducanu gave away another game before Ostapenko continued her lead and locked in the second set at 6-3.

After taking another medical timeout and being down 3-0 in the third set, one-time Grand Slam champion Raducanu shocked fans by forfeiting mid-match, citing an injury in her left glute.

If Ostapenko wins on Sunday, it will be her second WTA title this year. She won the Dubai Championships in February.

Ostapenko and Alexandrova have met six times before, with Alexandrova holding the upper hand at 4-2 on head-to-head.

“It is great to be in the finals, especially after the first two very tough rounds,” said Ostapenko in a post-match interview. “I have a real love to play here in Seoul, where I have a lot of fans.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]