Fernandez wins HK after three-hour battle

Leylah Fernandez ended a trophy drought stretching back more than 18 months as the Canadian defeated Katerina Siniakova 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a storming comeback to win the WTA Hong Kong event.

2021 US open finalist Fernandez, 21, now owns three titles in her career. after overcoming her Czech opponent and will return to the ranking Top 50.

Her last title came in February of last season in  Monterrey.

“We had a very, very hard past couple of years,” Fernandez said. “My family, my parents, my coach, and my performance coach stayed by my side.

“They motivated me to keep going and the hard work is paying off. Hopefully, we can keep going this way.”

Fernandez was overwhelmed in the opening set, losing serve twice but rallied for a fightback over an opponent seeking her second title of 2023.

The Canadian led 4-0 in the second set, which eroded to 4-3; but Fernandez salvaged six break points in a monster eighth game of 10 deuces to lead 5-3 and closed out the set two games later.

In the third, Fernandez was again put under pressure, holding in the opening game after fighting off four more break points, ignoring the distraction of Siniakova’s leg injury treatment as she moved onto the trophy..