Monterrey: Leylah Fernandez is in the final
Leylah Fernandez ( WTA No. 21) has again reached the final at the tournament in Monterrey.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Mar 06, 2022, 09:35 am
Monterrey remains a strong place for Leylah Fernandez. In 2021, the Canadian won her first (and so far only) WTA tournament here, quite sensational at the time as world number 88. Now she has reached the final again.
Fernandez defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals and now meets Camila Osorio.
It's Fernandez's first really good run since last year's US Open final, where she sensationally beat Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka (losing to Emma Raducanu in the final). After that she "only" had a match record of 3 wins and 3 losses.
In Monterrey, however, things are going well again for the 19-year-old, who only had to fight hard against young Qinwen Zheng in the round of 16, where she won the tie-break of the third set.
Leylah Fernandez: "Energy on the pitch is so positive"
"I just enjoy playing tennis in front of fans who love the sport as much as I do, " Fernandez said after the match . "They cheer me on, they cheer on my opponents, in difficult moments the energy on the pitch is so positive." Fernandez is now on a nine-match winning streak in Monterrey. Fernandez said afterwards that she couldn't complain when she was in Mexico. "My time here has always been fantastic, I've always had fun, I have great memories. I can't wait to play more games here in Mexico, hopefully in the next few years."
Final opponent Camila Osorio is in her third final on the WTA tour, the third in the last twelve months. She beat Nuria Parrizas Diaz 6-4, 6-4.
Last year Osorio sensationally won the tournament in Bogota as a wild card player when she was still ranked 180th in the world. In the meantime, she has worked her way up to 44th place in the ranking.