What a joy to see Leylah Fernandez compete again this week in Monterrey, Mexico after a more difficult start to the year than expected.
Everything changed in Quebec’s life after her giant performance that led her to the final round of the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year. Well, now he is going to come to terms with this new reputation, as he is forced to adapt quickly to this life of superstars. This represents the immense happiness that comes with new advertising contracts that offer promotion and money, but also a ton of pressure.
Looking forward to proving to the tennis world that her two wonderful weeks in New York have nothing to do with luck, Fernandez can push the bill a little too hard in training to prepare for 2022, while appearing in her games a little more pressed. Normally, it is not easy to move from incognito to the top, and believe me, it is not easy to adapt to this new reality without having already experienced it.
Anyway, I do not find it very explosive in Melbourne. I conclude that she is in bad enough condition to decide to finish a preparatory tournament, but she is not hurt enough not to appear in her first Grand Slam match against Maddison Inglis, 133rd in the world. The result was not at all satisfactory as Fernandez was beaten dry, unable to reach the ball fast enough to have good play options in attack.
Leylah never wanted to talk about an injury at a press conference to avoid going through a bad loss, rather talking about a bad day at the office. Proof that she is indeed injured, we see her again in matches this week in Monterrey, more than 40 days after her defeat in Melbourne. In addition, he has 250 points to defend this week as he is the defending champion. We agree that it takes a lot of aggression and determination to survive the challenge that this represents.
In addition, Leylah is being mistreated in the second round against 19-year-old Chinese Qinwen Zheng, who is a few points away from seeking victory. Fernandez is doing well because the opponent is completely paralyzed by what is at stake. However victory, he had at the end of the racket. The good news is that after this great horror, Quebec finds some interesting game patterns, more focused on attack, above the games.
We know this very well and it is also obvious today in the final that it is her lifeline against the Colombian Camila Osario, who deserves respect after winning the 1st set of Elina Svitolina on the break for the 3rd round in the quarterfinals. However, Leylah knows her well after beating him twice in three in the juniors. The method used works wonders from early on as it swirls around the court allowing it to test the opponent’s resilience. The results are decisive as Leylah attacks him from the back of the court while he finished the points in a wonderful way on the move, sometimes supported, sometimes stored, a pure pleasure to see. He is one point away from leading 5-1 in the first set. But oops, he throws the game and another to end up losing the set in a tiebreak.
Trapped by the challenge, Quebec ceases to be the leader and only returns to the game, which gives Osorio plenty of time to stay in the exchange and worse: take control of the points. This first set lets us all realize that Osorio has two faces: sometimes aggressive to lead the game with her forehand, and also capable of displaying competitive qualities to keep the points.
However, sometimes Fernandez is unrecognizable because she makes many mistakes in the crisis. When we are undecided, we inevitably become inaccurate. But one thing we can NEVER say about her is that she lacks courage. No matter which game he plays, it is courageous to continue with the fat and the minute as he saves 5 championship points and just bold and fearless late enough in the 2nd and 3rd set to get the points that make the difference. Here she is again champion in Monterrey!
As much as Félix Auger-Aliassime’s triumph in Rotterdam allows him to breathe a little easier, as this title in Mexico gives wings to Leylah Fernandez.
This beautiful series of tournaments on American soil is possible now in Indian Wells and Miami and this, between men from Thursday on the air of RDS.
