The first week of the grass season will be without a Canadian champion this year with Leylah Annie Fernandez coming closest to a title at the HSBC Championships.
The Canadian, alongside German Laura Siegemund, fell in the Queen’s Club doubles final to Slovak Tereza Mihalikova and Brit Olivia Nicholls on Sunday. The 6-3, 6-7(4), 10-5 loss was Fernandez’s fifth in as many WTA doubles finals.
Both teams cruised on serve to start the match, conceding just one service point in each of the first three games, until stress set in for Siegemund at 1-2, love-30. Mihalikova pounced on the German’s delivery to give her side triple break point, where the Slovak-British duo converted on the second try to gain the advantage in the opener. Nicholls then consolidated her team’s break with an ace at 40-love to go 4-1 in front.
From facing break point at 4-2, 40-all, Mihalikova and Nicholls won the next four points behind their delivery to hold triple set point at 5-3, 40-love, and the duo capitalized to take a lead into the second.
Service games were a lot tighter in the brand-new set. Four of the first six were decided from 30-all but the first break point only came at 2-3, 30-40, where Mihalikova and Nicholls saved both to keep the set balanced.
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At 4-4, both sides traded back-to-back-to-back breaks, a frenzy which favoured the Slovak-British duo who had a second opportunity to serve for the match at 6-5. However, Fernandez and Siegemund stayed alive once again as the Canadian-German duo broke back on the first attempt from love-40.
Neither team won a point behind their serve in the first four balls of the tiebreaker before Fernandez and Siegemund ended that skid, and added a third-straight mini-break to lead 4-2 at the changeover. Mihalikova and Nicholls managed to get back on level terms, but an inspired Siegemund took over in the final three rallies of the tiebreaker to send the final to the distance.
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The change of ends seemed to favour the Slovak-British duo in the match tiebreaker after going to the benches tied at three apiece. Mihalikova and Nicholls dropped just one point until the pair held match point at 9-4, clinching the title two balls later.
Fernandez’s grass season continues in Great Britain as the Lavalloise opens the Lexus Nottingham Open against Janice Tjen this week.
Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
