Canada’s Leylah Fernandez gained her third WTA title with a hard-fought victory over ailing Czech doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova on the Hong Kong Open on Sunday.
The 2021 US Open finalist triumphed 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 after two hours and 49 minutes at Victoria Park stadium.
Fernandez, ranked sixtieth on this planet, has endured a lean couple of years after shedding the Flushing Meadows remaining to fellow teenager Emma Raducanu two years in the past.
“We had a really, very laborious previous couple of years,” the 21-year-old mentioned as she thanked her crew.
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“The laborious work is paying off,” mentioned Fernandez, who gained the Monterrey title in 2021 and 2022.
Fan favorite Fernandez, born in Montreal however with a Philippine background, additionally thanked the Hong Kong crowd for his or her assist.
It had appeared the diminutive left-hander is likely to be blasted off courtroom as Siniakova broke her serve within the third sport of the primary set between the unseeded finalists.
The Eighty fifth-ranked Czech’s groundstrokes had been stronger and allowed her to maneuver Fernandez across the courtroom.
Siniakova’s motion turned restricted and she or he misplaced her first two service video games of the second set earlier than leaving the courtroom for therapy.
She returned along with her left thigh strapped and floor her approach again to interrupt Fernandez within the sixth sport, the Canadian grimly hanging on.
Siniakova then crashed to the courtroom after stretching for a Fernandez backhand within the first sport of the deciding set.
She cried in ache and left the courtroom for extra therapy, returning along with her proper thigh bandaged as nicely.
Siniakova fought on, the gamers swapping 4 straight service breaks earlier than Fernandez served out the match on her second championship level.
“Immediately was a really powerful battle and I loved each second of it, so thanks for making this tough for me,” Fernandez mentioned to her opponent.