Leylah Annie Fernandez of Montreal, Quebec has won her first career WTA title. On Sunday, Fernandez beat Viktorija Golubec of Switzerland 6-1, 6-4 to win the 2021 Monterrey Open from Mexico.
Fernandez now moves up to 72nd in the world. She was previously ranked 88th in the world, and was able to move up 16 spots in the process.
A major reason why Fernandez beat Golubec was because of her excellent start. She won the first five games of the match. Fernandez was able to bounce back nicely in the second set after being broken to seize control of the set and win the match.
In Monterrey, Fernandez beat two-time grand slam semifinalist Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-2 in the first round. Vandeweghe reached the final four of the 2017 Australian Open and the 2017 United States Open. Fernandez then beat Kristina Kucova of Slovakia 6-1, 6-4 in the second round, Viktoria Kuzmova 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, and the tournament’s seventh-seed Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain, 7-5, 7-5 in the semifinals.
This was the second straight week a Canadian advanced to the final of a WTA event in Mexico. Last weekend, 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard of Montreal, Quebec reached the final of Guadalajara before losing to Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 7-5.
This was also the second straight year that Fernandez reached the final of a tournament in Mexico. Last year she was in the final of the Mexican Open in Acapulco before losing to Heather Watson of Great Britain, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.
