Mirra Andreeva powered into the China Open final on Saturday with a commanding 6-2, 6-2 victory over surprise semi-finalist Nikola Bartunkova. The Russian teenager will now face either home favourite Qinwen Zheng or Belgium’s Elise Mertens in the title match.

“I wanted to play aggressive today,” said the 19-year-old Andreeva, who is ranked fifth in the world.

The Russian made a flying start in Beijing, racing to a 4-0 lead in the opening set as world No. 34 Bartunkova struggled with her serve, producing two double faults before surrendering the fourth game.

The 20-year-old Czech committed 20 unforced errors during the 74-minute contest and found herself outmatched by the French Open champion, who struck 27 winners to secure a comfortable victory.

Although Bartunkova saved the first match point, Andreeva converted her second opportunity to seal her place in the final.

“She’s a very tricky opponent to play against… she sometimes manages to hit rockets out of nowhere,” Andreeva said of her opponent.

“I tried to be brave no matter what,” she added, revealing that she had eased her pre-match nerves by playing the card game Uno with her coach before the semi-final.

Following a series of major upsets that eliminated Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, Andreeva is now the highest-seeded player remaining in the tournament. The world No. 5 will head into the final looking to cap her impressive run in Beijing with another major title.