Davidovich Fokina beats Shelton to reach the DC Open final vs. de Minaur. Fernandez faces Kalinskaya
The 12th-seeded Davidovich Fokina, a 26-year-old from Spain, will face No. 7 seed Alex de Minaur on Sunday for the title at the hard-court tournament. De Minaur advanced to his second Washington final by beating Corentin Moutet 6-4, 6-3.
Davidovich Fokina will be seeking his first ATP trophy in his fourth career final. No matter the outcome, he has guaranteed himself a debut in the top 20 of the rankings after arriving in D.C. at No. 26.
The semifinal win was de Minaur's 20th victory on a hard court in 2025, the most on the ATP tour. The Australian, who is 13th in the rankings, moved into his 19th career final; he's 9-9 so far. One of the runner-up finishes came against Alexander Zverev at Washington in 2018.
In the women's bracket, Leylah Fernandez will be trying to win her first WTA title of the season, and Anna Kalinskaya will seek the first of her career when they meet each other Sunday.
Fernandez, the runner-up at the 2021 U.S. Open, hit 12 aces and picked up her second victory of the week against a top-20 opponent by beating 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) across 3 hours, 16 minutes in the semifinals.
Kalinskaya needed less than half as much time to eliminate Emma Raducanu 6-4, 6-3 with the help of 14 backhand winners in the other women's semifinal. It was Raducanu who defeated Fernandez for the championship at Flushing Meadows four years ago.
Both women's finalists are unseeded. Canada's Fernandez, who is 22 years old, is ranked 36th; Russia's Kalinskaya, 26, is ranked 48th.
Kalinskaya moved into her third tour-level final. She went 0-2 in title matches last season.
Fernandez, who got past top-seeded Jessica Pegula earlier in the week, owns three titles. Sunday's matchup will be her seventh career final.
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Hamilton Spectator
6 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Leylah Fernandez's biggest tennis title at the DC Open was fueled by Shake Shack
WASHINGTON (AP) — The biggest tennis title of Leylah Fernandez's career arrived at the D.C. Open on Sunday with the help of a terrific backhand, some superb returning — and energy courtesy of Shake Shack's burgers and fries. The left-handed Fernandez , a 22-year-old from Canada who is ranked 36th, wrapped up a big week of tight matches with a lopsided victory, defeating Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 in the final. Fernandez earned her fourth singles trophy — all have come at hard-court tournaments — and first at a WTA 500 event. She came quite close to a Grand Slam championship as a teenager at the 2021 U.S. Open , making it all the way to the final in New York before losing to Emma Raducanu. There almost was a rematch in Washington, but Kalinskaya eliminated Raducanu in the semifinals Saturday. The men's final later Sunday was No. 7 seed Alex de Minaur against No. 12 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Fernandez took quite a journey through the bracket. She needed 2 hours, 19 minutes to oust No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula — last year's U.S. Open runner-up — in three sets in the second round, then 2 hours, 20 minutes to beat Taylor Townsend in the quarterfinals, and 3 hours, 12 minutes for a three-tiebreaker victory over No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina — the 2022 Wimbledon champion — in the semifinals. After each of the last two, Fernandez and her father — who is also her coach — opted for Shake Shack. 'We got burgers, hot dog, cheese fries — everything that an athlete should not eat before a match, but it did the trick,' Fernandez said about what she ate after the Townsend match. 'It gave me the right nutrients to recover from the cramps and get ready for the next round.' Following the Rybakina marathon, Fernandez said she and her father 'were messaging, and I was, like, 'OK, what do you want to eat tonight?' We both answered at the same time: burgers. ... That was kind of my diet for the whole week.' Sure worked: This was the first title for Fernandez since October 2023 at the Hong Kong Open. Plus, she arrived in Washington with a losing record this season and hadn't won more than two matches at the same tournament since last November. 'I have gone through so many different challenges this week. It just has made me stronger, in a way, that if I can get through this week — through the cramps, through the long matches, through the heat, the humidity — I can get through anything,' Fernandez said. 'So I was just very happy that I got to not only push myself physically through the limits, but also mentally. So that kind of will help me hopefully for future tournaments.' Against the 48th-ranked Kalinskaya, who hadn't dropped a set until Sunday, Fernandez saved the only break point she faced while breaking four times. One key: Fernandez claimed 10 of the 12 points when Kalinskaya hit a second serve. Another: Kalinskaya — a 26-year-old Russian who is 0-3 in tour finals — finished with 24 unforced errors and just nine winners. 'Amazing fight this week,' Kalinskaya told Fernandez. 'You truly deserve it.' ___ AP tennis:
Hamilton Spectator
36 minutes ago
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Canada's Victoria Mboko tops Aussie Kimberly Birrell in National Bank Open debut
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fernandez takes charge in Washington for top career win
Leylah Fernandez has collected the biggest title of her career at the DC Open with her most lopsided victory of the tournament, defeating Anna Kalinskaya 6-1 6-2 in the final. The left-handed Fernandez, a 22-year-old from Canada who is ranked 36th, earned her fourth singles trophy - all have come at hard-court tournaments - and first at a WTA 500 event. She came close to a Grand Slam championship as a teenager at the 2021 US Open, making it all the way to the final in New York before losing to Emma Raducanu. There almost was a rematch in Washington, but Kalinskaya eliminated Raducanu in Saturday's semi-finals. Leylah's winning moment 🫶#MubadalaCitiDCOpen — Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 27, 2025 The 48th-ranked Kalinskaya had not dropped a set all week until Sunday's final. However, she wasn't able to keep up with Fernandez, who saved the only two break points she faced while taking four of Kalinskaya's service games in a match that lasted 1 hour 10 minutes. It was Fernandez's first title since winning in at the Hong Kong Open in October 2023. She arrived in Washington with a losing record this season and hadn't won more than two matches at the same tournament since last November. With a mix of baseline excellence and strong net play, Fernandez eliminated top-seeded Jessica Pegula, the US Open runner-up last year, and No.3 seed Elena Rybakina, Wimbledon champion in 2022, on the way to the final. The win against Rybakina in Saturday's semi-finals took three tiebreakers and more than three hours to decide. There was no such drama against Kalinskaya, a 26-year-old Russian who fell to 0-3 in tour-level finals. She lost to Jasmine Paolini in Dubai and to Pegula in Berlin last year.
