Leylah rises from grave, wins title
I’m very, very happy to have gone through these hard moments, and have fought, found solutions
Leylah Fernandez came back from the edge of a steep cliff to defeat Colombian Camila Osorio, 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(3), to win the Abierto GNP Seguros 2022 in Monterrey, Mexico Sunday.
The plucky 19-year-old Filipino-Canadian saved five championship points at 5-4 in the deciding set and four more at 6-5 before winning the decisive tiebreak.
She took the match in two hours and 52 minutes.
“It was a very, very tough match, not only physically or tennis-wise, but mentally,” Fernandez said.
“Camila, she’s a tough player, very craft, she does slices, high balls. It’s very unpredictable.”
Coming off a masterful 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, the US Women’s Open finalist raced to a 4-1 lead only to be forced into a tiebreaker by the 20-year-old Osorio’s solid defense and superb counters.
The Colombian, who bested Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Diaz, 6-4, 6-4, in the Last 4, went on to steal the set on a passing shot.
But Fernandez showed resiliency and a big fighting heart.
She again took control, 4-1, and did not waver this time, taking the set with a big winner.
The third set was akin to a street brawl. Exchanging power ground strokes, Osorio won four straight games to take a 4-1 lead, but Fernandez battled back to force a tiebreaker.
Scoring on forehand winners, Fernandez took a 5-2 lead and won on Osorio’s two unforced errors.
“I’m very, very happy to have gone through these hard moments, and have fought, found solutions. And Camila, I hope we have many, many more finals like this, because without her, I don’t think this tournament, this final, would be as special,” Fernandez said.