Hong Kong Tennis Open: Leylah Fernandez fights back to win first WTA title for 19 months in thrilling final
- A hit with spectators all week in Victoria Park, the 21-year-old Canadian, partly of Filipino heritage, beats Katerina Siniakova over three epic sets
- In doubles final, Tsao Chia-yi and Tang Qianhui thrill bumper Centre Court crowd with dramatic 7-5, 1-6, 11-9 victory after saving three match points
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 two hours, 49 minutes on Centre Court.
It came after Tsao Chia-yi and Tang Qianhui also delighted the home crowd with a dramatic victory in the doubles final.
The 19-year-old Taiwanese Tsao – ranked No 352 in the world in doubles – and mainland Chinese partner Tang won 7-5, 1-6, 11-9 over Oksana Kalashnikova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
But while they were celebrating a maiden tournament success together, 2021 US Open finalist Fernandez was a winner for the first time since Monterrey in March 2022.
“I want to thank my team,” Fernandez said in her post-match speech on court, her voice cracking with emotion.
“We had a very, very hard past couple of years and my family, my parents, my coach, my performance coaches have stayed by my side and got me through those tough times and motivated me to keep going.
“The hard work is paying off, and hopefully we can keep going this way. But thank you so much for the belief you have in me. I love you all.”
Siniakova – a seven-time grand slam champion in doubles – had made a surprise run to the final in Causeway Bay, and the upset looked firmly on when the world No 85 in singles 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.
“I tried to keep up,” Siniakova said. “I had the chances but Leylah was just too good. It was a really good battle. She started being really aggressive. But I couldn’t run so well. I gave all the power to the second set, but suddenly it went away.
“My leg wasn’t ready, sometimes when I stepped on it, it was painful. It was tough but I think the adrenaline helped. I left everything out here and it wasn’t enough, I need to be proud.
“I tried to keep fighting until the end and I almost got it. I’m just sad, but on the other hand I played really amazing matches here so I just need to take this.”
Fernandez was the undoubted fan favourite all week in Victoria Park, and the crowd let her know throughout Sunday’s draining match as they willed her on.
“I want to give a special thank you to the fans of Hong Kong,” she added.
“Thank you so much for coming and supporting me throughout the week and watching women’s tennis, it means the world to us and the atmosphere was amazing.
“I want to thank the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association for making this possible after five long years where we couldn’t play here.”
