Japan’s Nao Hibino only needed five minutes on Monday to reach the final of the rain-hit Prague Open, which is due just minutes after her semifinal.
Hibino, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser from qualifying, beat Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3 in a game that had started on Sunday.
The semifinal, which was already postponed from Saturday because of steady rain, started with a 3.5-hour delay on Sunday.
The match was then suspended after five hours and three disruptions as the 28-year-old, 136th-ranked Hibino was leading 5-2 in the third set with the score at 15-15 and Cristian serving.
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In the final, she will take on 18-year-old Czech Linda Noskova, the tournament’s fourth seed.
The teenager wasted no time in her semi-final that started at the same time on Sunday, sweeping aside Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch 6-1, 6-1 in just 65 minutes.
Hibino will seek to add a third WTA title to her trophy cabinet following wins at Tashkent in 2015 and Hiroshima in 2019.
Noskova, who will be playing her second WTA final after Adelaide earlier this year, is seeking a maiden title on her home soil.
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