Leylah Fernandez is keeping up her good play from recent weeks as she hopes to book her first final in a while.
Fernandez had a really solid run at the Guadalajara Open, which once again confirmed her ties with Mexico. She won her maiden trophy in the country and, ever since then, performed consistently well at events there, coming back as much as she could.
She is keeping up her solid play in Asia with a good run at the 2023 Hong Kong Open. She bested Mirra Andreeva, among other players, to put together a run that is now a match short of the final, which would be her first since Monterrey of last year.
Anna Blinkova is the opponent, a solid player who can beat you if you give her a chance, so Fernandez will need to be really careful.
Head-to-head:
Fernandez and Blinkova played twice so far on the WTA Tour; each player has a win. Fernandez won the first one at the 2020 Cincinnati Masters, which was played in New York. The second one came last year in Bad Homburg, and it was a really solid win for Blinkova.
Prediction:
Fernandez is hugely favoured in this one, and it mostly comes down to her being more comfortable on hard courts than Blinkova, especially these low-bouncing ones.
It gives her plenty of chances to create an advantage with her angles and her lefty forehand. Blinkova can outhit Fernandez off the courts; there is no question about it, but I do worry whether she'll be able to.
It promises to be a really close and complicated match, so don't be surprised if it goes to three sets. Still, with the way Fernandez performed recently, I have to back her to win here. She just looks in the zone, and it's very hard to bear her then.
Prediction: Leylah Fernandez to win in two sets.
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