Fernandez doubles up in Nanchang, extends win streak to eight

Leylah Fernandez

View Profile 's resurgence continued at the Jiangxi Open as the former US Open finalist won two efficient matches in one day to reach her second consecutive semifinal.

Having had her second-round match delayed by a day due to rain, No.43-ranked Fernandez came through it 6-4, 6-1 over Chinese qualifier You Xiaodi in 1 hour and 24 minutes. She returned to the court four hours later to win her quarterfinal over Aliaksandra Sasnovich

View Profile 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour and 23 minutes.

Fernandez, who ended a 19-month title drought last week to lift her third Hologic WTA Tour trophy in Hong Kong, is now on a career-best eight-match winning streak at tour level. Her previous record of seven matches was set in 2022, when she followed the Monterrey title with a third-round run in Indian Wells.

"It was definitely hard, emotionally and mentally," Fernandez said of her double-duty schedule. "But I've been training in extremely tough conditions at home. My coach has pushed me hard mentally, emotionally and physically so I can get ready for these types of matches and these types of days. 

"[My opponents had] completely different games. Xiaodi was very difficult to play against -- one, she had the home crowd with her and two, her game is very different from a lot of the women I play on tour. It was hard to adjust but I'm happy I found solutions.

"Last time I played against Sasnovich it was three sets. She's very offensive, very aggressive, very fast too. So I just tried to be faster than her and put one more ball in."

Highlights: Fernandez d. You | Shnaider d. Hibino

Fernandez will now face Katerina Siniakova

View Profile in a rematch of the Hong Kong final, a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 classic that lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes. The Czech had also been slated to play two matches in one day, but after ousting No.7 seed Varvara Gracheva

View Profile 6-4, 6-3, she received a walkover in the quarterfinals after Laura Siegemund

View Profile withdrew due to sickness.

The top-half semifinal will pit No.4 seed Marie Bouzkova

View Profile -- the only seed to make it to the last eight -- against Diana Shnaider

View Profile , the youngest player remaining in the draw. Bouzkova delivered a watertight performance to hold off Camila Osorio

View Profile 6-0, 6-4 and reach her first tour-level semifinal since Guadalajara 2022.

Like Fernandez, No.72-ranked Shnaider has been thriving in Asia over the past month. The 19-year-old left-hander reached her maiden WTA final in Ningbo three weeks ago, and powered past Nao Hibino

View Profile 6-0, 7-5 to make her third semifinal of 2023.