In a matchup between two Grand Slam finalists, No. 6 seed Leylah Fernandez rallied from an early setback to defeat No. 5 seed Maja Chwalinska 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the final of the Singapore Tennis Open.
Playing against each other for the first time, Chwalinska dominated the early stages of Saturday’s match, winning the first five games in a row which included a stretch of 15 consecutive points before Fernandez got on the scoreboard. The Polish star, who reached the French Open final in June, held on to capture the first set 6-1.
Fernandez, a runner-up at the 2021 US Open, responded strongly at the start of the second set, winning the first eight points to take a 2-0 lead. Chwalinska, playing in only her second career tour-level semifinal, broke back to level the set at 3-3. But Fernandez continued to attack and claimed the set 6-4 to force a decider.
Chwalinska had an early break point in the third set that would have given her a 2-0 lead. However, Fernandez saved it and leveled the set at 1-1 before taking control. Fernandez broke twice to build a commanding lead and sealed the 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory with a backhand winner after 2 hours, 8 minutes.
“Maya, she’s such an amazing player, very tricky to play against,” Fernandez said in her on-court interview. “She doesn’t give you the same ball twice, not even three times. I knew it was going to be tough, and from the beginning, I guess I was just too, I was a little shocked, and then also I got a little too frustrated, but of course the crowd definitely helped me out to reset in the second set, and without you guys, I don’t think I would be in the finals, so thank you so much for the support and always believing in me.”
Fernandez hit 31 winners, compared with 15 for Chwalinska, but also recorded 43 unforced errors to her opponent’s 28. One of Fernandez’s most effective tactics was her willingness to move forward. She approached the net on 37 occasions and won 22 points in those exchanges.
Fernandez is through to her first tour-level final of the season, where she will face Australia’s Talia Gibson for the first time. Gibson advanced via a walkover after Tatiana Prozorova withdrew from the tournament because of a concussion.
“I know it’s going to be a tough match,” Fernandez said looking ahead to the final. “It’s our first finals of the year for both of us, so it’s not going to be easy. We both want the trophy, I just know she hits the ball very hard. She’s super aggressive. I’m just going to listen to my coaches, see what they tell me about the game plan, and execute it as much as possible.”
The final will be the ninth of Fernandez’s career and the first for Gibson. The Canadian has won five WTA Tour singles titles, all on hard courts.