Leylah Fernandez Advances to the Japan Open Final
The tennis player Leylah Fernandez, the last seeded player in the WTA Japan Open, has qualified for Sunday’s final after defeating Sorana Cîrstea.
Fernandez, 21 years old, defeated Cirstea, 35 years old, with a score of 6-1, 2-6 and 6-4.
In the decisive set, with the score at 4-4, Fernandez managed to break Cîrstea’s serve and then held his own serve in the following game to secure his advance.
The Canadian player, seeded number four, will face Tereza Valentova in the final, an 18-year-old player coming from the qualifying phase.
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 had reached the semifinals after Naomi Osaka, the top seed, withdrew due to a left leg injury on Friday, giving the Romanian player a direct pass to the next round in the quarterfinals.
This will be the eighth final in Fernandez’s career, who was the runner-up at the US Open in 2021.
Her only previous semifinal this season was at the WTA 500 D.C. Open, where she was crowned champion by defeating Anna Kalinskaya, thus obtaining her fourth WTA singles title.
Fernandez suffered a three-set defeat to Coco Gauff in the second round of the China Open at the end of September.
