Leylah Fernandez tipped for grand slam title, as foul-mouthed pep talk inspires Hong Kong Tennis Open win
- The 21-year-old reveals she motivated herself by turning the air blue during the crucial second set in Sunday’s final at Victoria Park
- Hong Kong tennis chief Philip Mok says Fernandez’s first title win in 19 months can ‘give her the kick she needed’ to get back to the top
Leylah Fernandez got back in the winner’s circle in Hong Kong after 19 months without a title – and now she has been tipped to make her major trophy breakthrough.
The 21-year-old Canadian, partly of Filipino heritage, was a crowd favourite all week at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, where she beat Katerina Siniakova in a dramatic final on Sunday evening.
It was sweet relief after two years of “ups and downs” following the 2021 US Open final she lost to Emma Raducanu, and Hong Kong Tennis Association president Philip Mok thinks she can use it as a springboard.
“She was touted as one of the rising stars two years ago but some injuries set her back. Ever since, she has been on her path to getting back to where everyone thought she’s going to be,” Mok said.
“Hopefully winning this tournament will give her this kick that she needed, to know she’s really back and can compete with the best in the world and win a grand slam in a couple of years.”
Fernandez overcome adversity throughout the week in Causeway Bay, not least in the final where her opponent, a seven-time doubles grand slam champion, won the first set.
A crucial eighth game in the second set, with Fernandez leading 4-3, could have swung the momentum back in the Czech’s favour too. But Fernandez saved six break points to clinch it after a mammoth 25 points.
“We were both hitting winners on every point, every shot,” Fernandez said. “What I thought was, sorry for my language, ‘F***, this is a battle, let’s just keep going, let’s hit just one more winner and things will go well’.
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“And at 5-4 I just told myself, again, sorry for my language, ‘F***, throw some balls and hit your shots’. I was glad I was very honest with myself, and said ‘a battle is gonna happen, let’s be the first one to punch – if she punches me once, I punch her twice’.
“I just used that mentality to push myself through the finish line. That’s the mentality of any professional in sports. You don’t want to be the one on the defence. She clearly showed she wanted to be on the offence,
“I wanted to be on the offence. It’s always a battle that way. My coach – my dad – has always said that ‘a fight is going to happen, be the first one to punch’.”
Fernandez had also rallied from a set down in the second round against Mirra Andreeva, a 16-year-old Russian being tipped for the top by some, and was poised to play a deciding set against top seed Victoria Azarenka in her opening match before the former world No 1 retired with an injury.
Mok could only express his admiration for her performances in Hong Kong.
“You could tell that she did not have the size advantage, but she used the skills that she has,” he said. “She played a pretty unique brand of tennis at this top level to overcome her size disadvantage.
“After the first match, which unfortunately Azarenka had to retire from, she started playing better with every match, and the crowd could really appreciate her skill and the way she fights for every point.”
