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Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff congratulated Leylah Fernandez after the Canadian captured her first title of the year in Hong Kong. On Sunday, Fernandez won her first title since 2022 March after beating Katerina Siniakova 3-6 6-4 6-4 in the final of a WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong.
For the 21-year-old Canadian, it was a career-third WTA title but also a very important one, considering how challenging the past year and a half had been for her. "Dreams transformed into reality through hard work and dedication.
This victory is not just mine, but a shared triumph with each of you who stood by me. Your unwavering support fueled every point on the court. Thank you from the bottom of my heart," Fernandez captioned her Instagram post. In the comment section, Gauff wrote: "Congrats (heart emoji)." Fernandez responded: "@cocogauff thank you!!"
Fernandez receives a congratulatory message from Gauff
In 2021, Fernandez reached the US Open final just days after turning 19.
A couple of months later, Fernandez won her second WTA title in Monterrey. After winning the Monterrey title in 2022 March, Fernandez battled injuries and setbacks, and that also negatively impacted her performance and results.
When Fernandez arrived in Hong Kong, she was ranked at No 60 in the world. Following her Hong Kong, Fernandez opened up and expressed her gratitude to everyone who stayed by her side during the tough times. "We had a very, very hard past couple of years.
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 said after winning Hong Kong. Meanwhile, there is not much time for Fernandez to celebrate and rest since she is also playing this week in Nanchang. In her Nanchang opener, Fernandez plays against Hanyu Guo.