Anna Kalinskaya’s marvellous Washington Open run came to an end at the hands of Leylah Fernandez.
Kalinskaya was simply outplayed by the Canadian, who only conceded three games during a 6-1 6-2 victory in DC.
Fernandez, who secured a fourth WTA Tour singles title of her career, denied the Russian from winning her first-ever WTA Tour singles title.
The Russian struggled to get a foothold in the match against the 22-year-old Canadian, and she showed little sign of mounting a comeback at any point.
Photo by Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Following the match, Kalinskaya spoke of playing her ‘tricky’ opponent, who beat Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula on her way to the title.
Anna Kalinskaya says she doesn’t have anyone to practise with who is left-handed
The Russian, who only won 36 points in total compared to Fernandez’s 56, was asked about the ‘tricky’ adaptation of playing a left-handed athlete like Fernandez; who considered taking a break from tennis after Wimbledon.
Playing someone who hits groundstrokes from the opposite wing can provide unexpected results due to the varying flight paths of the ball and the amount of spin used on each shot respectively.
The Russian found this adaptation particularly tricky, noting that she couldn’t find her rhythm ‘at all.’
One reporter asked: “Playing Leylah, she’s a left-hander. It’s the first time you have played a left-hander in over a year. How tricky is that?”
Kalinskaya replied: “Yeah, it was very tricky for me. I couldn’t find my rhythm at all.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
“I felt great the last couple of days, but today was left-handed, and I tried to remember when was the last time I played left-handed. I think maybe last one was Haddad Maia.
“So I don’t really have anyone who I can hit with left-handed. It’s very difficult to find. There are not too many. It was definitely an issue for me today.”
Anna Kalinskaya’s serving troubles against Leylah Fernandez
Anna Kalinskaya had a torrid time on serve against Leylah Fernandez in the Washington Open final.
The Russian was broken four times by the Canadian, saving only two of the six break-points on her serve. Kalinskaya won only 18 points on serve, nearly half of Fernandez’s total at 38.
However, the most remarkable statistic concerns the total number of points the Russian won on her second serve.
Kalinskaya won just two points out of 12 on her second serve. At a percentage of 17 per cent, the Russian was likely to struggle when attempting to hold serve against Fernandez.
Meanwhile, Fernandez won 50 per cent of her second serve points and 75 per cent of her first serve points. The Canadian protected her serve well, saving the only break-point she faced.