Lehecka crushes Korda in Adelaide International; Ostapenko into women’s final

Third seed Sebastian Korda was dismantled 6-2, 6-1 on Friday as Jiri Lehecka reached the Adelaide International final, while Jelena Ostapenko battled into the women’s decider.

Jiri Lehecka of Czechoslovakia in action. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Jiri Lehecka defeated third-seeded Sebastian Korda 6-2, 6-1 on Friday to advance to the Adelaide International final.

The Czech player, who has dropped only one set in the tournament, will face Jack Draper in Saturday’s final at Memorial Drive. Draper beat Alexander Bublik 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a night semifinal.

Korda was trying to make it to two Adelaide finals in a row. He lost last year to Novak Djokovic after having a championship point.

In the women’s tournament, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 7-6 (3). The sixth-seeded Ostapenko will play Daria Kasatkina in Saturday’s final.

With previous wins over Sorana Cirstea, Caroline Garcia and Marta Kostyuk, Ostapenko is into her first hard-court final since winning Seoul in 2022. On Friday, Ostapenko earned her third win in seven tour-level matches against Alexandrova.

“She can serve really big and she’s hitting the ball great,” Ostapenko said of Alexandrova. “I was trying to play my game, even if sometimes I could really find it, try to be consistent and when I had the chance to go for it.”

Kasatkina advanced to the final after second-seeded Jessica Pegula withdrew with a gastrointestinal illness. It was the second consecutive walkover for Kasatkina, after Laura Siegemund withdrew ahead of their quarterfinal due to a left leg injury.

Top-seeded Elise Mertens advanced to the final of the Hobart International with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win over Daria Saville. Mertens broke Saville’s serve in the 11th game of the final set and held her service in the next game for the win.

Mertens will play second-seeded Emma Navarro in Saturday’s final after the American beat Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue 6-4, 6-3.