Shnaider survives Fernandez fightback to win sixth career crown in Tokyo

No. 3 seed Diana Shnaider appeared to be cruising toward her first title of the season after building a 6-4, 4-0 lead against Leylah Fernandez in the Toray Pan Pacific Open final in Tokyo on Sunday.

But that's when things got complicated for the 22-year-old. Fernandez mounted a spirited comeback, winning seven of the next eight games to take the second set 7-5 and force a decider.

Fernandez carried that momentum into the third set, holding serve before earning three break points on Shnaider's serve. However, Shnaider saved all three to level the set at 1-1. After the players exchanged holds, Shnaider broke serve in the fifth game and won the next three games to close out a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory in 2 hours, 18 minutes.

The victory marks Shnaider's first title of the season and the sixth of her career.

Shnaider, who had lost all four semifinals she reached this year, has now won six consecutive finals on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. Her only defeat in a WTA final came in her first career championship match at the 2023 Ningbo Open, where she lost to Ons Jabeur. Four of her six titles have now come on hard courts, including her third WTA 500 crown in Tokyo today.

"Firstly, I would like to congratulate Leylah on an amazing week, last week, some great achievements through this Asia Swing," Shnaider said during the on-court presentation ceremony. "Congrats to you, your coach, your family back home. Keep going and for sure hope to see you more in the finals like this in the future.

"I also want to say thanks to and congratulate my coach who is here with me to achieving our first title this season. It means definitely a lot, so definitely a great achievement and a great finish to the season. I want to also say huge thanks to my family who is watching at home and also super happy."

The victory is projected to lift Shnaider back to a career-high No. 11 in the WTA PIF Rankings.

After losing her first two meetings with Fernandez, Shnaider has now won their last four encounters. This was her third victory over the Canadian this season, following wins in Adelaide on hard courts and Charleston on clay.

For Fernandez, the defeat was only her fifth in her last 21 matches. That stretch includes her sixth career title in Singapore and a runner-up finish in Ningbo last week.