Leylah Fernandez beats Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 to win the DC Open for her biggest title
The
left-handed Fernandez
, a 22-year-old from Canada who is ranked 36th, earned her fourth singles trophy — all have come at hard-court tournaments — and first at a WTA 500 event. She came quite close to a Grand Slam championship as a teenager
at the 2021 U.S. Open
, making it all the way to the final in New York before losing to Emma Raducanu.
There almost was a rematch in Washington, but Kalinskaya eliminated Raducanu in the semifinals Saturday.
Until Sunday, the 48th-ranked Kalinskaya had not dropped a set all week.
However, she wasn't able to keep up with Fernandez, who saved the only break point she faced while taking four of Kalinskaya's service games in a match that lasted 1 hour, 10 minutes. One key: Fernandez claimed 10 of the 12 points in the match when Kalinskaya hit a second serve. Another: Kalinskaya finished with 24 unforced errors and just nine winners.
This was the first title for Fernandez since October 2023 at the Hong Kong Open.
She dedicated this victory to her mother, her older sister and her fitness trainer.
'Thank you so much for never giving up on me — and don't give up on yourselves,' Fernandez said. 'This trophy is for you guys.'
She arrived in Washington with a losing record this season and hadn't won more than two matches at the same tournament since last November.
With a mix of baseline excellence and strong net play, Fernandez eliminated top-seeded Jessica Pegula — the U.S. Open runner-up last year — and No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina — the Wimbledon champion in 2022 — on the way to the final.
The win against Rybakina in Saturday's semifinals took three tiebreakers and more than three hours to decide.
'Amazing fight this week,' Kalinskaya told Fernandez after the title match. 'You truly deserve it.'
There was no such drama against Kalinskaya, a 26-year-old Russian who fell to 0-3 in tour-level finals. She lost to Jasmine Paolini in Dubai and to Pegula in Berlin last year.
The men's final scheduled for later Sunday was No. 7 seed Alex de Minaur against No. 12 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who defeated No. 1 Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals and No. 4 Ben Shelton in the semifinals.
___
AP tennis:
https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
29 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Play ball, take 2: The MLB Speedway Classic resumes at Bristol after rain suspension
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — A record crowd for a regular-season Major League Baseball game got to see all the pomp and pageantry with the MLB Speedway Classic before the rain washed out the game itself in the bottom of the first inning. Fans returning Sunday only wanted to watch the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds play ball. They enjoyed enough of star Tim McGraw and Pitbull in the rain that suspended the first MLB regular-season game in the state of Tennessee. 'We got to see all of that (Saturday), so as long as we see game today I think we'll be good,' Cindy Lowe of Mount Airy, North Carolina, said. Craig Morton agreed. He and his family, with three children, were ready to see baseball even if Morton is the Reds' fan surrounded by relatives rooting for the Braves. They had a good time seeing McGraw and country singer Jake Owen. Sunday was dry at Bristol Motor Speedway even with overcast skies. 'We're really glad that they played the game today instead of last night because we sat here a couple hours in the rain and everybody was saturated even with rain gear,' Morton said. 'The kids are happy so we're happy.' This MLB Speedway Classic was first announced nearly a year ago as part of Commissioner Rob Manfred's push to take MLB to places where baseball isn't played every day live. MLB played a game at the 'Field of Dreams' movie site in Iowa in both 2021 and 2022. Alabama and North Carolina, too. MLB didn't try to sell every ticket inside the speedway that drew 156,990 for the Battle of Bristol college football game in 2016. The track with a racing capacity of 146,000 meant the final attendance number could reach 90,000 or more even with sections blocked off. The previous paid attendance of 84,587 was set Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees. Simply canceling this game wasn't an option. The Reds are in the chase for a wild-card spot, and this is the last time these teams meet this season. Teams had police escorts to make sure they got back to Bristol on Sunday. For fans, the commute back to Bristol Motor Speedway, billed as 'The Last Great Colosseum' with its history as a half-mile bullring of a racetrack, was easier for some than others. Steven Long of Atlanta, Georgia, was on a party bus to his hotel in Knoxville with a bunch of distributors. He drove the 110 miles back to Bristol on Sunday by himself even though he had hoped to be driving home. He couldn't miss the first MLB game at a racetrack. 'I had to come back,' said Long, who wore his Braves jersey hoping for a win. MLB will be announcing an attendance figure later Sunday. Officials already knew this event would draw a record crowd with 85,000 tickets sold as of Monday. The big question Sunday was how many people would return for baseball itself after the big party that MLB and Bristol threw for fans Saturday. For Lowe and Jason Lawson, this is a moment they couldn't miss after buying tickets in May. 'The history, the nostalgia of Bristol Motor Speedway combined with Major League Baseball all in one I think,' Lowe said. ___
San Francisco Chronicle
29 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Lions' Hendon Hooker, Kyle Allen looking for better results in backup QB competition
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Hendon Hooker provided a blunt assessment of his first preseason performance. 'A zero out of 10,' the Detroit Lions quarterback said. 'It wasn't to my standards, it wasn't to the team's standards of just being productive and controlling the huddle and making plays.' Hooker and Kyle Allen, who are competing for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind starting quarterback Jared Goff, are both looking for vast improvement in the offense's performance when the Lions play at Atlanta on Friday. Detroit committed five turnovers and generated just 197 yards in a 34-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame game on Thursday. Allen, who started the game, was 9 of 14 for 91 yards but was intercepted twice. Hooker was 3 of 6 for 18 yards and was picked off once. They'll switch roles on Friday with Hooker playing the first half and Allen taking over after halftime. Durability hasn't been an issue for Goff since he was acquired from the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. He hasn't missed a game the past three seasons. If that streak ends this season, the Lions will need to have a reliable option. They're looking for either Hooker or Allen to establish themselves as the clear backup. 'I can tell you both of those guys are, it goes without saying, they're frustrated with the way that went and they both want to improve and get better,' coach Dan Campbell said. 'And they will.' Hooker was selected in the third round of the 2023 draft despite a knee injury suffered late in his college career that turned his rookie season essentially into a redshirt year. Hooker had 58 touchdown passes and five interceptions in two seasons at Tennessee. The 27-year-old Hendon also spent three seasons with Virginia Tech. Hooker made three brief appearances last season, going 6 of 9 for 62 yards. This preseason is pivotal to show he was worthy of his draft status. 'Very key. Every play is important,' he said. 'So just taking advantage of every play, every throw, every decision and just putting my best foot forward every time.' Allen, 29, has bounced around the league since making Carolina's roster as an undrafted free agent in 2018. The Lions are the sixth organization he's suited up for and fifth in the past five seasons. He appeared in one game with Pittsburgh last season. Allen has made 19 starts, including 12 of 13 appearances during the 2019 season with the Panthers when he passed for 3,322 yards with 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He was sacked 46 times. The Lions signed him to a one-year, $1.27 million contract with a $100,000 signing bonus in March. The second half against the Falcons gives Allen another extended opportunity to secure his spot on the depth chart. 'Obviously (looking to) correct the interceptions and the mistakes, play a little cleaner football,' he said after Sunday morning's practice. 'Just keep executing the offense, getting more comfortable in it and take it play by play.' ___
San Francisco Chronicle
29 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Dolphins sign OL Germain Ifedi with starter Austin Jackson out several weeks with an injury
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Dolphins starting offensive tackle Austin Jackson will miss several weeks with a leg injury after being stepped on at practice but is expected to return by Miami's season opener against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 7. Coach Mike McDaniel said the injury isn't related to the knee injury that sidelined Jackson for the final eight games in 2024. 'He got the injury playing football," McDaniel said Sunday. 'Got stepped on. Has nothing to do with anything but that. With Austin, the bottom line for me where he's at — out of all the guys, I would say — he had some time off, he knocked some rust off, he got back and in my opinion exceeded where he was playing before, so we're fortunate that timetable doesn't seen to be into the regular season.' With the injury, the Dolphins signed veteran offensive lineman Germain Ifedi on Sunday. Ifedi, who has played at guard and tackle, has 90 starts with Cleveland, Chicago and Seattle. The team also waived quarterback Brett Gabbert and activated safety Ifeatu Melifonwu off the non-football injury list. Melifonwu has missed the start of training camp, but will be a needed addition to the Dolphins secondary, which has had cornerback Kader Kohou (season-ending knee injury) and safety Ashtyn Davis (leg) go down in the first few weeks of practice. In other injury news, Jaelan Phillips, who missed most of the past two seasons with separate Achilles tendon and ACL injuries, suffered a bruise to one of his legs during practice, but McDaniel said the linebacker is only expected to miss a couple of days as the swelling goes down. ___
