Ferro reaches first WTA 125 final in years with Andreescu scalp on the way

Fiona Ferro reached the final of the Oeiras Open CETO with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Pole Linda Klimovicova on Saturday, her best result in years for a player who was once ranked inside the top 40.

The 28-year-old Frenchwoman, now ranked No 246, claimed two WTA titles in 2019 and 2020 before a prolonged dip sent her back through the rankings and into the ITF circuit. Oeiras has offered a reminder of what she can produce when the ball is flying.

The win over Klimovicova was her fourth of the week and the most straightforward – earlier she had beaten Russian Elena Pridankina, Czech Lucie Havlickova and, most significantly, Canadian Bianca Andreescu, the No 4 seed, 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.

Andreescu, a former US Open champion, was the scalp that announced Ferro’s week for what it was.

Klimovicova, ranked No 160, had been another compelling story — eliminating second seed Yue Yuan among her wins — but found Ferro too solid on Saturday.

Ferro faces Uzbek Polina Kudermetova in Sunday’s final.