By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday February 29, 2020
Great Britain's Heather Watson won her fourth career WTA title and first since 2016 with a three-set win over 17-year-old Leylah Fernandez.
Photo Source: Guillerm Sanchez
Heather Watson took a far more circuitous route than she would have liked in Saturday’s Abierto Mexicano de Tenis final against 17-year-old Leylah Fernandez but eventually got over the finish line in three tricky sets 6-4 6-7(8) 6-1.
Watson looked to be headed to a relatively uncomplicated victory but failed to convert five match points in the second set tiebreaker as a determined Fernandez kept fighting and eventually converted her sixth set point to force a decider.
The 27-year-old quickly stiffened her resolve and raced out to a 5-1 lead over Fernandez in the third set but she ran into more trouble while serving for the match and failed on four more championship points before finally driving the final nail in Fernandez’ coffin.
Watson claims her first WTA title since 2016 with the victory.
In a unique on-court moment after the final microphones picked up Watson’s mother’s words to her. “It doesn’t matter how you got there—you got there!” she said.
Watson cracked six aces and won 79 percent of her first-serve points over the course of the two hour and 46 minute encounter.
Fernandez made history by becoming the youngest finalist in Acapulco history. She was playing in just her fifth WTA-level event.