Fairytale continues for Jil Teichmann

Mason, August 22

Top-ranked Ash Barty will make her first Western and Southern final appearance Sunday. Just like everybody else. No. 76 Jil Teichmann will meet Barty in the women’s final. Olympics gold medallist Alexander Zverev will face No. 7 Andrey Rublev in the men’s final after the seventh-ranked Rublev rallied to upset No. 2 and top-seeded Daniil Medvedev 2-6 6-3 6-3 on Saturday in the first men’s semifinal.

The fifth-ranked, third-seeded Zverev shook off stomach issues that prompted a visit from medical personnel during a third set changeover to outlast No. 3 and second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 3-6 7-6 (4).

The tournament finals berths are the first for all four.

Teichmann, a wildcard entry who already had upset No. 2 Naomi Osaka and No. 12 Belinda Bencic, dumped No. 4 and fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-2 6-4 to set up a match against the reigning Wimbledon champion. “I really like it,” the left-handed Teichmann said. “It’s a nice challenge — center court, playing the world No. 1 in a final. I’ll just go for it.”

The 25-year-old Barty used a strong service game to survive a challenge from No. 22 Angelique Kerber with a 6-2 7-5 semifinals win.

The turning point for Rublev came on Medvedev’s serve in the eighth game of the third set, which featured eight deuces and five break points. “That was a turning point for both of us because it (is) so humid and so hot,” Rublev said.

Medvedev overcame a run-in with a television camera, but he couldn’t get past his fellow Russian. Rublev won for the first time in five meetings with Medvedev and on Sunday will meet the winner of the match between second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas and third-seeded Alexander Zverev. — AP