PV Sindhu into French Open final to meet An Se Young
PV Sindhu beat Japan's Hina Akechi in a three-game semi-final in Paris on Saturday to reach the French Open final, prevailing 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 in one hour and 13 minutes. She will face world No. 1 An Se Young of South Korea in Sunday’s summit clash, with a second Super 750 title of the year within reach.
Sindhu reached the French Open final for the first time in her career and is a two-time Olympic medallist. She won the Japan Open Super 750 in July and carried that form into Paris, while Akechi entered the semi-final ranked world No. 22 and is 21 years old.
The opening game was level at 8-8 before Sindhu stepped up her intensity to lead 11-9 at the interval. She then dominated the closing stages, winning 11 of the last 12 points to take the first game 21-10 in 18 minutes.
Akechi responded in the second game, deploying deceptive strokes and sharp defence to trouble Sindhu. Sindhu recovered from a four-point deficit to draw level at 16-16 and edged ahead with a deceptive return, but Akechi held her nerve at 20-20 and converted her second game point to force a decider.
In the deciding game Sindhu started strongly and held a two-point lead at the interval before Akechi rallied to level at 15-15 with precise net play and a smash. A long 38-shot rally ended when Akechi made a net error, giving Sindhu an 18-16 advantage; Sindhu followed with a fine net shot, earned four match points when Akechi went wide and finished the contest with a cross-court smash.
Akechi had produced an impressive run to reach the semi-finals, beating China’s Wang Zhi Yi and Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani earlier in the tournament. Sindhu’s victory over the 21-year-old booked her place in the final despite Akechi’s resistance.
An Se Young has been dominant on the tour and Sindhu has not beaten her in 10 previous meetings, suffering straight-games defeats to the Korean at the Indonesia Open and the Singapore Open earlier this year. Sindhu will meet An in Sunday’s final for the French Open title.