It is going to take a big effort to stop Leylah Annie Fernandez from going back-to-back at the Hong Kong Tennis Open.
The defending champion from Laval is through to the semifinals of the WTA 250 event after another impressive victory over Bernarda Pera in the quarter-finals in straight sets on Friday. While she faced a bit more resistance than in the first two rounds, Fernandez was able to dig in when she needed to and marched into the last four with a 6-1, 7-6(7) win.
Efficiency won out over raw power in the quarter-final clash as Fernandez won 74 per cent of her first serve points and 52 per cent of her seconds, while claiming 59 per cent of the powerful Pera’s second serve points. Both women had six break point chances in the match, with Fernandez converting three of hers and saving five on her own serve.
Having cruised through her first two matches with the loss of just seven games, Fernandez kept the good times rolling into her quarter-final where she broke at the first opportunity in the second game on her way to a quick 3-0 lead.
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The Canadian was in control all throughout the opening set. She added a second break to go up 5-1, although serving out the set proved to be her toughest test. Fernandez fell behind 15-40, the first time she trailed in a service game in the match, but was able to battle back to deuce. It took her three set points to close out the opener in just over half an hour.
Pera upped her aggression in the second set which allowed her to start hanging with the Canadian. However, Fernandez still looked to be on her way to a routine win when she had break points at 3-3. Pera saved two with big serves but Fernandez kept coming. A big return gave her a third look and a poor approach from the American allowed the defending champion to rip a forehand winner and seal the break.
However, the Canadian could not maintain her advantage. In the following game, she fell behind 15-40 and missed a forehand on the second break point to put the set back on serve. Fernandez was now struggling to defend her serve and found herself down double set point in her next service game too, but was able to find some big serves to avert the disaster.
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Pera’s powerful hitting still seemed like it would extend the match. In the tiebreak, she scored an early minibreak and at 3-2, she won both of Fernandez’s service points to set herself up to serve out the set a 5-2. However, Fernandez dug in, frustrating her American opponent and coaxing some errors to win four straight points and set up a match point. Pera saved it with an ace but after having her own set point a 7-6, the American committed three straight errors to hand the match to Fernandez.
Standing between Fernandez and a second straight final in Hong Kong is the top seed Diana Shnaider. The pair have played twice before, both times since August, with Fernandez emerging victorious on both occasions in Cincinnati and in Wuhan.