Leylah Fernandez vs Maja Chwalinska — SF — Singapore Tennis Open

Leylah Fernandez dropped the opening set 1-6 and recovered to win in three sets against Maja Chwalinska, reaching the Singapore Tennis Open final after 2h 07m on court. Chwalinska set the terms early. The Polish left-hander, WTA No. 26 and the No. 5 seed at this WTA 250, broke in games 1, 3 and 5 for a 5-0 lead while Fernandez won 40 percent of her first-serve points in the set and served three double faults. Fernandez retrieved one break in game 6 and nothing more. Neither semifinalist had lost a set through three rounds. Fernandez had beaten Mirra Andreeva 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals; Chwalinska had handled Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-2. They had no prior meetings on record. Fernandez broke to open the second set, was pulled back to 3-3, then broke in game 9 for 5-4 and again in game 10 to take it. She won 79 percent of her first-serve points in that set. Breaks in games 3 and 5 of the third put her ahead 4-1, though the aggregate stayed close to level: Fernandez finished with 71 of the 140 points. Chwalinska, a Roland-Garros finalist as a qualifier earlier this year, leaves at the semifinal stage. Fernandez, 11-12 on hard courts this season before this win, plays for the title.