Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen showed everyone why she is one of the fastest rising stars in tennis during an entertaining, back-and-forth semifinal contest at the Pan Pacific Open on Saturday.
The path to her first career title, however, goes through one of the hottest players on the WTA Tour.
The 19-year-old Zheng pulled out a 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6-3) win over No. 13 Veronika Kudermetova, the fourth seed, in a match that lasted 3 hours, 14 minutes to reach her first WTA final at Ariake Coliseum on Saturday.