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The final of the 2023 edition of the Ningbo Open will be played between Ons Jabeur and Diana Shnaider. On Friday, Jabeur, the top-seeded player in the singles draw, and Shnaider made their way past their respective semi-final match-ups.
In the first semi-final, the 19-year-old Shnaider beat her 18-year-old rival, Linda Fruhvirtova in straight sets. The world no. 85 needed an hour and 40 minutes to grab a 6-4, 6-1 win. Going into the final, it was Fruhvirtova who was more experienced, relatively, than her opponent when it came to playing these stages of a tournament.
In 2022, Fruhvirtova had won the maiden WTA trophy of her career at the Chennai Open. However, in China, Shnaider showed no nerves and went for her game, without any hesitation. Both players had three aces each but Fruhvirtova had two more double faults than her older-by-a-year rival’s three.
Fruhvirtova and Shnaider won around 39% of their second-serve points but the latter was quite convincing off her first serve. Of the 32 points played on her first serve, Shnaider won 23. Fruhvirtova also won 23 of her first-serve points but it came off the 44 points she put in.
Shnaider created 14 break point…
