Leila Fernandez won the fifth title of her professional tennis career, after defeating teenager Tereza Valentova 6:0, 5:7, 6:3 in the final of the women's tournament in Osaka. The competition in Japan is on a hard court, with a prize fund of 275 thousand dollars and a UTA 250 rank, BTA reported.
With the title in Osaka, Fernandez will climb five places in the world rankings and will be 22nd as of Monday. 18-year-old Valentova, on the other hand, makes a huge jump of 20 positions and will reach a record 58th place in her young career.
"First of all, I want to congratulate Tereza. She played great and had an impressive week not only for her but also for her coach and family. I'm sure I'll see her in many more finals. I also want to thank my father, who is my personal coach and sparring partner. He suffered with me for the last month, even the last year. Without him I wouldn't be here," she said.
Fernandez made a strong start and took the first set to nil, but the young Czech was transformed in the second half. She reached three breaks and forced a decisive set, in which Fernandez dominated with her experience. At 2:1, she reached a break point with a backhand on the diagonal and then realized the break with another winning shot. In the end, the Canadian came to victory after two hours and 15 minutes on court.