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Leylah Fernandez halted Sara Sorribes Tormo on her tracks in the semi-final of the Monterrey Open on Saturday. The teenager posted a 7-5, 7-5 win over the Spaniard, who was seeded seventh in the draw, to reach the second final of her career.
Incidentally, the southpaw’s first career final also came on Mexican soil – at the 2020 Acapulco Open (lost to Heather Watson). Both sets followed a similar trajectory as both players exchanged service breaks across the first eight games of the sets.
However, Fernandez emerged as the better player in the decisive moments of both sets as she fended off Sorribes Tormo, who had been on a seven-match victory streak going back to the Guadalajara Open last week. Speaking after the match, Fernandez said, “I was fighting through tough points, almost every point was tough, she played incredible.
She’s a tough player to play against. She won last week in Guadalajara, so obviously she came in with a lot of confidence and I just tried to do my best in the moment, and I’m happy with the win today”. Then, about her tactics, she added, “Today, the game plan was to be a little more offensive, coming into the net.
I think I executed it pretty well and I’m happy that the win was on my side”.
Monterrey Open: Viktorija Golubic's on a roll
In the final, Fernandez will play Viktorija Golubic. The Swiss qualifier ousted the eighth seed Ann Li 6-2, 6-4 in their semi-final, overpowering her with her shot-making.
Golubic broke Li five times across the match and hit 21 winners. Golubic has now reached the final of the Lyon Open (lost to Clara Tauson) and here, in Monterrey, as a qualifier. Post-match, talking about making it to the two finals, Golubic said, “This is really awesome.
First of all, to experience that, and to still be also fit mentally and physically is also not an easy thing. I was keeping my routines and doing that very well too, so I also learned a lot about my game, and I could just feel I’m playing pretty solid now, and also moving well, and attacking in the right moments”.
The Monterrey Open title bout between Leylah Fernandez and Viktorija Golubic will be the first meeting between the duo.