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Leylah Fernandez won the maiden title of her career at the Monterrey Open on Sunday. The 18-year-old defeated Viktorija Golubic 6-1, 6-4 in an hour and 29 minutes. Fernandez won the title without dropping a set in any of the matches en route.
In the final against the Swiss, the Canadian converted four of the six break points on Golubic’s serve while saving four of the five break points, she faced. The lone break of Fernandez’s serve came in the fourth game of the second set as Golubic broke her back to level the set at two-all after going down an early break to start the set.
The second break of Golubic’s serve in the ninth game gave the teenager the chance to serve for the match, which eventually she did.
Monterrey Open: Leylah Fernandez's Mexican glory
Post-match, Fernandez talked about these latter moments of the match.
She said, “The last game basically, especially the last two points, I was very nervous there. But I just tried to calm myself, just think about the moment, and try to execute the plan as best as I can. I’m happy that the balls went in for me”.
For Fernandez, this was also her second WTA final in Mexico. In 2020, she reached the final of the Acapulco Open. Talking about drawing positives from that result, Fernandez mentioned, “I just tried to do my best, and tried to use the emotions that I felt last year (in the Acapulco final) as fuel to get the win, and it definitely helped today”.
Finally, Fernandez credited her family for supporting her. “It was a family effort for years. I was very happy that the hard work and sacrifices that we’ve done since the beginning is paying off, and just hoping there will be many more,” she said.
Thanks to her victory run at the Monterrey Open, Leylah Fernandez has now reached a new career-high of no. 72 in the world.