Hong Kong Tennis Open: Leylah Fernandez fights back to win first WTA title in 19 months
Leylah Fernandez battled through adversity to win her first title in 19 months in an epic Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open singles final on Sunday evening.
The 21-year-old Canadian – who is partly of Filipino heritage – came from a set down to beat Katerina Siniakova 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in front of a partisan crowd at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium, after 2 hours, 49 minutes on Centre Court.
It was sweet relief for the 2021 US Open finalist, who finally returned to the winner’s circle for the first time since Monterrey in March 2022, since when she has had “lots of ups and downs”.
Doubles specialist Siniakova had made a surprise run to the final in Causeway Bay, and the upset looked firmly on when the world No 85 broke Fernandez’s service twice en route to taking the first set comfortably.
A frantic second set then unfolded, with Fernandez letting a 4-0 lead be reduced to 4-3. She then came out on top in an epic 25-point game where she saved six break points for a monumental hold of service, and went on to tie the match at one-set apiece.
Fernandez kept rolling with an immediate break in the third set and led 3-1, but the Czech refused to back down and pegged her back to 3-3 as the momentum looked like it would swing Siniakova’s way once again.
They then traded breaks of serve for 4-4 as a back-and-forth final continued to thrill. Fernandez turned up the pressure again and Siniakova saved two break points, but not a third.
Fernandez then served out the match, and secured the title to raucous cheers, as she turned and smiled to her team watching on and applauding.
Earlier on Sunday afternoon, Tsao Chia-yi and Tang Qianhui also delighted the home crowd with a dramatic victory in the doubles final.
The 19-year-old Taiwanese – ranked No 352 in the world in doubles – and Chinese partner Tang won 7-5, 1-6, 11-9 over Oksana Kalashnikova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
More to follow …
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