Leylah Fernandez of Canada fought off a challenge from 18-year-old qualifier Tereza Valentova to win the Japan Open 6-0, 5-7, 6-3 in Osaka on Sunday.
In the early going, it appeared the fourth-seeded Fernandez would cruise to an easy triumph after winning the first seven games of the match. But Valentova, in her first WTA final, came up with a service break late in the second set to send the match to a third set.
The young Czech, serving to tie the decider at 4-4, was broken for the seventh time on the match, giving Fernandez a 5-3 lead that Valentova could not overcome in the two-hour, 11-minute match. The title was the second on the year (Washington, D.C.) and fifth of her career for Fernandez.
Ningbo Open
Third-seeded Elena Rybakina rallied from a set down to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 in the finals in Ningbo, China. It was the 10th career tour victory for Rybakina, from Kazakhstan.
After Rybakina blanked the fourth-seeded Russian in the second set, she won three games to open the third set and race to her third consecutive victory in a WTA final. This match lasted just under two hours.
Rybakina won 88% of the points (35 of 40) on her first serve, which included 11 aces, compared to 58% (37 of 64) for Alexandrova. Rybakina entered the match with a 6-15 record this season after losing the first set.
–Field Level Media
