Leylah Fernandez will return to the world’s top 30 on Monday after winning her first title of the season at the Singapore Open.
The Canadian sixth seed defeated Australia’s Talia Gibson 7-5, 6-0 in a final she won by winning eight games in a row. Fernandez won 60% of her service points and broke Gibson eight times. This is the second time she has won a WTA 500 event in her career, after the Washington Open last year. Overall, she has six Tour-level trophies to her name.
“The first set I came in very stressed, nervous,” Fernandez said. “I tried to force some shots that weren’t there. I tried to hit winners when I needed to work the ball, needed to work the point.”
Fernandez later said she worked her way through the match with the help of the crowd, paying tribute to the Singaporean and Pinnoy fans cheering her on throughout the week. Her mother, Irene, was born to Filipino parents but grew up in Canada.
“When I did get my first game in the sixth game, in the first set, and I heard the cheers, I was like, OK, they’re not going to give up on me, so let me not give up on them either.” She commented.
Coming into this week, Fernandez was yet to go beyond the quarter-final stage of a tournament this year. In her last four Grand Slam appearances, she lost in the first round three times in a row before reaching the third round of the US Open earlier this month.
“There’s been a lot of adversity that I faced this year. I worked very hard this year trying to get my confidence back, my movement back, keeping healthy, not only physically but also mentally,” said Fernandez.
Fernandez’s run to the title has also seen her knock out top seed Mirra Adreeva and fifth seed Maja Chwalińska earlier this week. Across five matches, she dropped only one set, and it was against Chwalińska.
The 24-year-old will rise five places in the WTA rankings to 26th on Monday.
Birrell wins all-Australian clash in Seoul
At the Korean Open, which is a WTA 250 event, Kimberly Birrell captured her first Tour title after defeating compatriot Maya Joint 6-4, 6-2.
Birrell, who was seeded second in the draw, dropped her opening service game before swiftly settling into proceedings. She broke Joint four times and won 61% of her service games. She was playing in only her third WTA final of any sort at the age of 28.
“It was quite difficult for us today because we are very good friends,” said Birrell, who then praised Joint and her return from injury.
“You’ve had a tough year, I know. I hope you know how proud I am of you and how amazing you are.”
Coming into Seoul, Birrell had struggled to win matches in recent months. Her run to the title marks the first time she has won back-to-back main draw matches at a WTA event since March, when she did so at a WTA 125 in America.
She is projected to rise to a ranking high of 41st following her latest win.
