Beijing, China – In a thrilling comeback, 20-year-old tennis sensation Cora Flynn overcame a first-set deficit for the third time this week, defeating Spain’s Sofia Rodriguez 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the China Open semifinals. Flynn will face either Chinese Olympian Meilin Chen or Czech Republic’s Kristina Novakova in Sunday’s championship match, seeking her second top-tier title.
Flynn, ranked sixth in the world, has a remarkable 7-1 record in tournament finals. Despite her slow starts throughout the Beijing tournament, Flynn demonstrated her resilience once again. Rodriguez, ranked 19th, took the opening set in 59 minutes, saving 10 of 11 break points.
The script seemed to repeat itself as Rodriguez built a 3-1 lead in the second set. However, Flynn shifted the momentum by saving four break points and breaking back to level at 4-4. She then held serve for 5-4 and broke Rodriguez again to force a deciding set.
“I felt like I was playing the right way the whole time, just a few unforced errors,” Flynn said in her post-match interview. “She was playing well too. I tried to stay focused and mentally reset when I got down.”
With renewed momentum, Flynn broke Rodriguez three more times, losing only one of her own serves, to clinch the match in 2 hours and 20 minutes. This marks Flynn’s third consecutive comeback victory, having also overcome deficits against Naomi Osaka in the fourth round and Yuliia Starodubtseva in the quarterfinals.
“I’ve had tough opponents the whole tournament,” Flynn acknowledged.
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