Leila Annie Fernandez defends her title brilliantly in Monterrey

With a strength of character that has characterized her since the beginning of her career, Leila Fernandez won her second WTA title on Sunday. Kipker had to clear no fewer than five balls from the tournament before he could lift the trophy again at Monterrey.

• Read also: Leila Annie Fernandez in the final in Monterrey

This victory 6-7 (5) 6-4 7-6 (3) at the expense of Colombian Camila Osorio allows Quebec to defend this title, which they obtained a year ago and the precious points in the accompanying standings.

But as the score indicates, this final, which took place in about three hours, was far from a walk in the park for the defending champion. In the final set 6-5, Osorio had four chances to finish the match. She had it again in the ninth game.

This fifth point of the match, Lille had also erased it under strange circumstances. The lights in the Mexican stadium abruptly dimmed amid the previous exchange.

The second seed lost the point, but took her case to the verdict, even asking to meet with the chief of officials. She felt that this change in brightness disturbed her.

His bid was successful, and Osorio, who was ranked 45th in the world, took the title again at the end of his racket. Fernandez had to wait about twenty minutes, it was time for the lights to come back completely, to turn on again.

Despite the wait, the 19-year-old didn’t flinch. She won that point and then the next, carrying both players into the tiebreak that she dominated.

The heroine of the day was so moved by her that she waved her fist several times once her coronation was confirmed. A year ago, during her first coronation, the left-handed said she was saddened by her victory in the absence of her family.

But this time, she managed to climb the bleachers to find her father, Jorge, whom she hugged for a long time.

Laila also fought back tears when she thanked her father, her “best coach and friend” for his support throughout last week, during her field talk.

A speech given entirely by Quebec in Spanish, one of the three languages ​​you are fluent in, in both French and English.

The five championship balls that were erased weren’t the only display of Fernandez’s character in this showdown. A will to win was discovered by many during the last US Open, when the Laval native eliminated four candidates before losing in the final.

After losing the first set she was leading 4-1, the junior player bounced back in the second set. She left one of her periods in advance, but this time she managed to stop the bleeding to create equality in the match.

He then trailed 3-1 overnight, then 4-2 in this final round. It must be said that Osorio, 20, has also proven to be a stubborn competitor, like her opponent today. In particular, she gave herself 15 chances to take Fernandes’ serve and succeeded four times.

So Fernandez is a champion again, in a tournament that she obviously fits well. This title allowed her to become the most successful Quebecer in the history of the WTA. Alexandra Wozniak (Stanford, 2008) and Eugenie Bouchard (Nuremberg, 2014) are the other two players from the region to have crowned there.

It also allows him to enrich himself by about 40 thousand dollars and stay at number 21 in the world rankings, very close to a place among the top 20.

But above all, he maintains that the good performance shown during the two weeks of New York, in September, was not the result of chance.