From 1-6 down to the final: Fernandez rallies past Chwalinska

In a matchup between two Grand Slam finalists, No. 6 seed Leylah Fernandez rallied from a one-sided first set to defeat No. 5 seed Maja Chwalinska 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 and advance to the final of the Singapore Tennis Open on Saturday.

Playing for the first time, Chwalinska dominated the early stages of the match, winning the first five games in a row and a stretch of 15 consecutive points before Fernandez got on the scoreboard. The Pole, who reached the French Open final in June, held on to claim the first set 6-1.

Fernandez, a runner-up at the 2021 US Open, responded strongly at the start of the second set, winning the first eight points to take a 2-0 lead. Chwalinska, playing in only her second career tour-level semifinal, broke back to level the set at 3-3. But Fernandez continued to attack and claimed the set 6-4 to force a decider.

Chwalinska had an early break point in the third set that would have given her a 2-0 lead. However, Fernandez saved it and leveled the set at 1-1 before taking control. The Canadian broke twice to build a commanding lead and sealed the 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory with a backhand winner after 2 hours, 8 minutes.

Fernandez hit 31 winners, compared with 15 for Chwalinska, but also recorded 43 unforced errors to the Pole's 28. One of the Canadian's most effective tactics was her willingness to move forward. She approached the net 37 times and won 22 points in those exchanges.

Fernandez is through to her first tour-level final of the season, where she will face Australia's Talia Gibson for the first time. Gibson advanced via a walkover after Tatiana Prozorova withdrew from the tournament because of a concussion.

The final will be the ninth of Fernandez's career and the first for Gibson. The Canadian has won five WTA Tour singles titles, all on hard courts.