WASHINGTON — The largest tennis title of Leylah Fernandez’s profession arrived on the DC Open on Sunday with the assistance of a terrific backhand, some very good returning and power courtesy of Shake Shack’s burgers and fries.
The left-handed Fernandez, a 22-year-old from Canada who’s ranked thirty sixth, wrapped up an enormous week of tight matches with a lopsided victory, defeating Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 within the ultimate.
Fernandez earned her fourth singles trophy — all have come at hard-court tournaments — and first at a WTA 500 occasion. She got here fairly near a Grand Slam championship as a teen on the 2021 US Open, making all of it the best way to the ultimate in New York earlier than dropping to Emma Raducanu.
There virtually was a rematch in Washington, however Kalinskaya eradicated Raducanu within the semifinals Saturday.
The boys’s trophy was received by No. 7 seed Alex de Minaur, who earned his tenth ATP title — eighth on laborious courts — by saving three championship factors in a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over No. 12 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Fernandez took fairly a journey by way of the ladies’s bracket.
She wanted 2 hours, 19 minutes to oust No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula, final 12 months’s US Open runner-up, in three units within the second spherical. She then wanted 2 hours, 20 minutes to beat Taylor Townsend within the quarterfinals and three hours, 12 minutes for a three-tiebreaker victory over No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, within the semifinals.
After every of the final two, Fernandez and her father, who can also be her coach, opted for Shake Shack.
“We bought burgers, sizzling canine, cheese fries — all the things that an athlete mustn’t eat earlier than a match, however it did the trick,” Fernandez stated about what she ate after the Townsend match. “It gave me the suitable vitamins to get well from the cramps and prepare for the following spherical.”
Following the Rybakina marathon, Fernandez stated she and her father “had been messaging, and I used to be, like, ‘OK, what do you wish to eat tonight?’ We each answered on the similar time: burgers. … That was form of my weight loss plan for the entire week.”
Certain labored: This was the primary title for Fernandez since October 2023 on the Hong Kong Open.
Plus, she arrived in Washington with a dropping file this season and hadn’t received greater than two matches on the similar event since final November.
“I’ve gone by way of so many various challenges this week. It simply has made me stronger, in a method, that if I can get by way of this week — by way of the cramps, by way of the lengthy matches, by way of the warmth, the humidity — I can get by way of something,” Fernandez stated. “So I used to be simply very pleased that I bought to not solely push myself bodily by way of the bounds, but additionally mentally. In order that form of will assist me hopefully for future tournaments.”
Towards the Forty eighth-ranked Kalinskaya, who hadn’t dropped a set till Sunday, Fernandez saved the one break level she confronted whereas breaking 4 instances.
One key: Fernandez claimed 10 of the 12 factors when Kalinskaya hit a second serve. One other: Kalinskaya, a 26-year-old Russian who’s 0-3 in tour finals, completed with 24 unforced errors and simply 9 winners.
“Wonderful battle this week,” Kalinskaya informed Fernandez. “You really deserve it.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.