Jiri Lehecka defeats Sebastian Korda, advances to Adelaide International final

ADELAIDE, Australia — Jiri Lehecka defeated third-seeded Sebastian Korda 6-2, 6-1 on Friday to advance to the Adelaide International final.

The Czech player, who has dropped only one set in the tournament, will face Jack Draper in Saturday’s final at Memorial Drive. Draper beat Alexander Bublik 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the other semifinal.

Korda was trying to make it to two Adelaide finals in a row. He lost last year to Novak Djokovic after having a championship point.

In the WTA portion of the tournament, sixth-seeded and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-2, 7-6 (3), in a semifinal. And in the other semifinal, Daria Kasatkina advanced over Jessica Pegula via a walkover.

MERTENS INTO FINAL AT HOBART

Top-seeded Elise Mertens advanced to the final of the Hobart International with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win over Daria Saville. Mertens broke Saville’s serve in the 11th game of the final set and held her service in the next game for the win.

Mertens will play second-seeded Emma Navarro in Saturday’s final after the American beat Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue 6-4, 6-3.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.