Leylah Fernandez Reaches Tokyo Final as Canadian Tennis Shines

Leylah Fernandez is back on a big stage, and she’s dragging Canadian tennis with her.

The 22-year-old from Laval, Que., ground past Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday to reach the Japan Open final in Tokyo, needing every bit of one hour 54 minutes to get it done. It wasn’t a stroll. It was a test of patience, resilience and timing — and Fernandez passed it.

Rakhimova pushed hard in a tight opening set, but Fernandez’s return game slowly squeezed the life out of the contest. The key points went her way. The long rallies went her way. The momentum, inevitably, went her way.

Once she edged the first set 7-5, the tone shifted. Fernandez began to dictate more aggressively, using her lefty angles to pull Rakhimova off the court and lean on her movement. The second set’s 6-3 scoreline told the story of a player in control, closing the door when it mattered.

Waiting in Sunday’s final is Diana Shnaider, after the Russian battled past Slovakia’s Mia Pohankova 6-4, 7-6 (7) in the other semifinal. Shnaider had to survive a tense second-set tiebreak, but she held firm to set up a compelling clash with Fernandez for the title.

Dabrowski targets doubles crown in Tokyo

Canada will have more than one shot at silverware in Tokyo.

Gabriela Dabrowski, the top seed in women’s doubles alongside Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani, also punched her ticket to a final on Sunday. The Ottawa native and Stefani rallied from a set down to defeat Australians Storm Hunter and Maya Joint 5-7, 6-4, 10-3.

They wobbled early, dropping the opening set, but tightened their game when the pressure climbed. The match tiebreak turned into a statement: Dabrowski and Stefani raced through it 10-3, showing exactly why they came in as the No. 1 seeds.

Their last hurdle is the Italian pair of Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, who swept aside Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalíková and Great Britain’s Olivia Nicholls 6-4, 6-0 in their semifinal. Errani and Paolini closed ruthlessly, losing just four games all match and none in the second set.

Andreescu keeps rolling in Mexico

While Tokyo delivered drama, another Canadian star was quietly dismantling the field in Mexico.

Bianca Andreescu stormed into the semifinals of the Querétaro Open on Friday with a 6-1, 6-1 demolition of Spain’s Alicia Herrero Linana. The Mississauga, Ont., native, seeded No. 4 at the WTA 125 event, needed only 55 minutes to post her ninth straight victory.

The scoreline was brutal. The performance was efficient. Andreescu gave away almost nothing on serve, attacked returns with intent and never allowed Herrero Linana to settle.

Her run continued Saturday, with a scheduled semifinal against France’s Carole Monnet offering another chance to extend a resurgent streak that is starting to look like more than a simple run of form.

Three Canadians. Three deep runs. One weekend that could reshape the rhythm of their seasons.