Heather Watson is through to her first WTA Tour final since 2016 after a straight-sets 6-1, 6-4 victory over Veronika Kudermetova in Tianjin. The 27-year-old beat the Russian, ranked 80 places above her in the world, after one hour and 14 minutes on court. The Briton will return to the top 100 next week. Watson will now face Rebecca Peterson in the final after the Swede beat Ons Jabeur.