Barty sails into final

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty crushed French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 6-0 on Friday, cruising into the final at the Wuhan Open.

Barty, who began 2017 ranked outside the top 300, will face Caroline Garcia in her first Premier 5 tournament final after the French player toppled Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 in a one-way semifinal.

Ostapenko, ranked 10 in the world, struggled with a niggle to her right wrist and appeared tired after triumphing over world No.1 Garbine Muguruza in the quarters.

Barty had already seen off former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova, Agnieszka Radwanska, seeded nine, and Johanna Konta, the fifth seed in a dream run in the Central China city.

“It’s been an unbelievable week. I’ve played some really good tennis at a really consistent level throughout the match and haven’t had any real drops,” 21-year-old Barty said.