Leylah Fernandez beats Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 to win the DC Open for her biggest title
WASHINGTON: Leylah Fernandez collected the biggest title of her career at the D.C. Open with her most lopsided victory of the tournament, defeating Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 in the final on Sunday. 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 US 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.
