A straight-sets win sends Fernandez to the final
Leylah Fernandez booked her place in the Pan Pacific Open final in Tokyo by defeating Kamilla Rakhimova 7-5, 6-3 in Saturday's semifinal. The result puts the Canadian into her third WTA final of the year, where she will have the opportunity to claim her second title of the season.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5]
Her opponent in Sunday's championship match will be third-seeded Diana Shnaider, who advanced by beating teenager Mia Pohankova 6-4, 7-6 (7) in the other semifinal on Saturday.[S1]
A season of finals and a walkover into the last four
Fernandez won the Singapore Open in September, defeating Talia Gibson in straight sets. Last week she reached the final of the Ningbo Open but was beaten in straight sets by Elena Rybakina.[S1]
She moved into the Tokyo semifinals without playing her quarterfinal, after top-ranked Rybakina withdrew from the match on Friday and handed her a walkover. Rybakina had secured the year-end No. 1 ranking with her second-round victory on Thursday.[S1]
