By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, February 1, 2025
American Ann Li will take on second-seeded Elise Mertens for the Singapore title on Sunday.
Photo credit: Singapore Tennis Open Facebook
Ann Li is practicing her Chinese during post-match interviews in Singapore.
The 24-year-old American is showing fluency in winning as well.
Li led top-seeded Anna Kalinskaya 7-6(2), 1-0 when the world No. 18 retired from their Singapore Tennis Open semifinals.
Pennsylvania native Li advanced to her fourth career Tour-level final.
In her last two tournament wins, Li has won three tiebreaker sets. She out-dueled Aussie wild card Kimberly Birrell 7-6(2), 7-6(4) in the quarterfinals.
The 2021 Tenerife champion Li will play for her second Tour-level title on Sunday against Elise Mertens.
The second-seeded Mertens stopped fourth-seeded Xinyu Wang 6-3, 6-4.
The 32nd-ranked Belgian banged nine aces against two double faults in a 90-minute win.