Hong Kong Tennis Open final is sweet relief for Leylah Fernandez after ‘ups and downs’ of last two years
- The 21-year-old Canadian fan favourite sees off Russian Anna Blinkova in straight sets In Victoria Park semi-final on Saturday
- Fernandez, who is partly of Filipino heritage, will look to win first title in 19 months with Katerina Siniakova now standing in her way
Fan favourite Leylah Fernandez admitted it was sweet relief as she put the “ups and downs” of the past two years behind her by storming into the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open final.
A finalist at the 2021 US Open, the 21-year-old Canadian has not won a WTA title since Monterrey in March 2022. But a straight-sets victory over Anna Blinkova of Russia on Saturday afternoon hinted she is back to her best.
Spurred on by a bumper crowd on Centre Court, with thousands more fans filing through the turnstiles in Causeway Bay, Fernandez blitzed world No 37 Blinkova in the opening set before showing plenty of fight to win 6-2, 7-5 in 78 minutes.
Partly of Filipino heritage, Fernandez has been the undoubted star of the tournament this week, and insisted the extra support has helped her regain top form.
“I love it. It has warmed my heart,” she told the Post. “The support has given me a lot of love, especially because I haven’t been travelling with my full team. It feels good to feel the encouragement from the crowd. I just feel more at home, and it helped me in the tough moments.
“I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m getting there, slowly but surely, every match improving, being more offensive, hitting my targets.
