Leylah Annie Fernandez is eyeing the title in Singapore.
After stunning top seed Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-finals, the Canadian No. 2 had to come from behind to beat Roland-Garros finalist Maja Chwalinska 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the Singapore Tennis Open semis on Saturday.
This will mark Fernandez’s first trip to a WTA singles final since last year’s Asian swing, when she hoisted the trophy in Osaka.
The opening set was one to forget for the Lavalloise. The 24-year-old was broken in her first three service games and only managed to win one point on return as Chwalinska led 5-0. Fernandez was able to extend the set after breaking the Pole in the sixth game, but the Canadian lost serve for the fourth-straight time and dropped the opener.
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Fernandez picked things up from that point on, though. The world No. 31 won eight points on the fly to begin the second, climbing out to a quick 2-0 advantage.
Despite Chwalinska levelling up the set with a break at 3-2, 15-40, Fernandez had the opportunity to regain the lead not long after. At 4-4, 30-40, the Canuck fired a backhand swinging volley to force the loss of serve, backing up the break by serving out the second.
Then, Fernandez took a comfortable hold of the decisive set and never looked back. After saving break point at 0-1, 30-40, the Canadian scored back-to-back breaks to grab the 4-1 edge. Soon, Fernandez held match point at 5-2, 40-15, and made no mistake, unleashing a backhand winner to book her place into the Singapore final.
Fernandez will battle world No. 63 Talia Gibson in Sunday’s title match. It will be the first meeting between the two.
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Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
