Three play-off matches and one lost set: that is how Leylah Fernandez’s run to the title in Singapore looks. She dropped that set in the semifinal, after which she won five sets in a row. The final against Talia Gibson ended 7-5 6-0.
Singles. From Andreeva to Gibson
In the quarterfinals, Fernandez beat Mirra Andreeva 6-2 7-5. The toughest match came in the semifinal against Mia Chwalińska. The Polish player had earlier routed Elise Mertens 6-2 6-2 and then took the first set in the semifinal 6-1. Fernandez responded with 6-4 and 6-2 sets and seized control.
Gibson reached the final via a three-set quarterfinal against Maria Sakkari: 6-1 4-6 6-2. The first set of the title match was tightly contested and ended 7-5, and in the second Gibson did not win a game. In the same section of the draw, Tatiana Prozorova played in the quarterfinals. She came back after dropping the first set against Xinyu Wang and won 3-6 7-5 6-4.
Doubles. Routliffe and Sutjiadi against the Chinese duo
Erin Routliffe and Aldila Sutjiadi moved past Sofia Costoulas and Talia Gibson in the semifinals 7-6(4) 6-3. For Gibson, that defeat brought an end to the doubles part of the week, in which she also reached the singles final. In the quarterfinals, Costoulas and Gibson beat Kristina Mladenovic and Alexandra Panova 6-3 7-6(4).
Qianhui Tang and Yifan Xu beat Storm Hunter and Desirae Krawczyk in the quarterfinals 6-3 6-1. The semifinal against Miyu Kato and Ellen Perez was uneven: 6-0 3-6 1-0(6). In the final, Routliffe and Sutjiadi prevailed 6-3 6-2.
According to api.tennis, both Singapore finals ended in straight sets. The most hard-fought matches of the tournament came in the semifinal round: Fernandez had to come back after losing the first set, while Tang and Xu went all the way to a deciding stretch. There was no such resistance in the finals.