Leylah Fernandez makes tennis final in Hong Kong, ending 19-month drought

Leylah Fernandez advanced to her first final in 19 months after a 6-2, 7-5 victory over fifth-seeded Anna Blinkova on Saturday at the Hong Kong Open.

The 21-year-old from Laval, Que., raced through the first set before No. 37 Blinkova improved in the second set.

The Canadian found the match-clinching break in the 12th game to seal the match in 78 minutes and advance to Sunday’s final against Katerina Siniakova.

“This match was extremely tough,” Fernandez said. “Anna, she’s a tremendous player, very powerful, and she’s coming in with a lot of confidence. The first set I played well, the second set she started making more balls and being very aggressive.

“I just tried to stay calm. I remembered my coach’s words to me: this is a battle, just enjoy it, have fun and put on a show for everyone.”

WATCH | Fernandez advances to 1st final since March 2022 at Monterrey:

Fernandez, who entered the tournament ranked 60th in the world, will look for her third WTA title when she plays in the fifth final of her career.

The last one came in March 2022, when she defended her title at Monterrey.

In the other semifinal, Siniakova eased past sixth-seeded Martina Trevisan 6-4, 6-2. Siniakova has four career titles, the most recent coming in July at Hamburg.

Fernandez beat Sinaikova in straight sets at the 2022 French Open in their only previous meeting.

WATCH | Fernandez takes down Fruhvirtova in quarterfinals:

Leylah Fernandez dominates on her way to the Hong Kong semifinals

Featured VideoLeylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., beat Czechia’s Linda Fruhvirtova in straight sets 7-6(2), 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open. Her first semifinal appearance since March 2022.

Ottawa native Gabriela Dabrowski and her partner Erin Routliffe — who represents New Zealand internationally but resides in Caledon, Ont., —  advanced to the final of the women’s doubles tournament at the Zhengzhou Open with a 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 win over the Chinese duo of  Jiang Xinyu and Hanyu Guo on Saturday.

The 2023 U.S. Open champions were tested, dropping their first set of the four-round tournament, but ultimately prevailed to secure their first finals appearance since the Guadalajara Open last month.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will now take on Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara in Sunday’s final at 5 a.m. ET.

The Japanese duo took down Liudmila Samsonova and Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 in their semifinal match on Friday.