Leylah Fernandez Advances to the Japan Open Final
The tennis player Leylah Fernandez, the last remaining seed in the WTA Japan Open, has qualified for Sunday’s final after defeating Sorana Cîrstea.
Fernandez defeated Cîrstea, 35, with a score of 6-1, 2-6 and 6-4.
In the decisive set, with a score of 4-4, Fernandez managed to break Cîrstea’s serve and then held her own serve in the following game, securing her advance to the final.
The Canadian player, seeded number four, will face qualifier Tereza Valentova, 18 years old, in the final.
Valentova reached the final after defeating Jaqueline Cristian with a score of 6-7 (3), 6-4 and 6-3 in the other semi-final.
Cristian reached the semifinals after the top seed, Naomi Osaka, withdrew due to a left leg injury on Friday, giving the Romanian player a direct pass to the next round in the quarterfinals.
Fernandez, finalist of the 2021 US Open, reaches her eighth career final.
Her only previous semifinal this season was at the WTA 500 D.C. Open, where she was crowned champion, after defeating Anna Kalinskaya in the final, obtaining her fourth WTA singles title.
Fernandez was defeated in three sets by Coco Gauff in the second round of the China Open at the end of September.
