ACAPULCO -- Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez came up short in her bid to win a WTA event for the first time, losing to Britain's Heather Watson 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-1 on Saturday in the Mexican Open final.
It was the deepest the 17-year-old Fernandez has ever gotten in a WTA tournament.
The Laval, Que., native showed poise in the loss, saving five championship points before winning the second set.
Fernandez entered the tournament ranked 190th in the world but will reach No. 126 when the WTA rankings are updated on Monday. Her previous best was 185th on Feb. 3.
She became the first Canadian to ever reach the Mexican Open final and the youngest finalist in the tournament's history after beating Mexico's Renata Zarazua 6-3, 6-3, in Friday's semifinal.
It's the fourth week in a row a Canadian has lost in the singles final of a WTA or ATP Tour event -- Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil and Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime, twice, have also come up short in February.
Fernandez advanced to the final of the Mexican Open with a win over Renata Zarazua on Friday night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 29, 2020.
