The 24-year-old world number 31 was awarded a wild card into the main draw after his schedule fell apart. She made the most of it with wins over Mirra Andreeva and Maia Chvalinska en route to the final.
Playing in his ninth round-level final, Fernandez showed his experience against Gibson. The 22-year-old world number 63 was contesting her first career final in a year of firsts that included a quarter-final in Indian Wells as a qualifier and a Top 100 debut.
The first set decided the match. Fernandez took a 3-1 lead on a fast court that suited her left-handed game before her serve began to falter. Gibson, relying on her heavy forehand to level at 4-4, hit a backhand pass down the line and earn a set point at 5-4.
Fernandez remained bold, played fast and came forward. He held at 5-5 and broke on his fourth break point, a forehand down the line causing damage. He took the set 7-5 when Gibson missed a forehand on set point.
Well, you know what, just mind the ball and let my instincts take over.
“When I was standing on that set point and those break points, I just kind of said, OK, you know what, just think about the ball and let my instincts take over,” Fernandez said. “I didn’t really think too much about where I was going to hit it, but I just hit the ball and trusted that my training would pay off, and luckily it did.”
He opened the second set with a break thanks to an inside-out forehand winner that was taken off the bounce. From there, he played at a different speed and Gibson couldn’t hit through him. Fernandez closed out the match with a sharp backhand angle that forced a forehand error.
The Canadian now has a 14-7 tour-level record against players ranked outside the Top 50. After a year of very low numbers, especially at Grand Slams, the 2021 US Open finalist has six career titles, all on hard courts; Osaka and Washington in 2025, Hong Kong in 2023 and Monterey in 20021 as well. the mug, which was first made by State Property, a fine jewelry brand founded in Singapore that has worked with Michelle Obama, Rihanna and Taylor Swift.
“I didn’t play the level of tennis I wanted to today,” Gibson said. “Also, it was a new experience for me, a new occasion, my first WTA final, so there were definitely some nerves that played a part as well. I hope I can believe this is the first of many more finals to come for me.”