Coming off just one victory on Saturday thanks to a bye as the No. 1 seed, Fernandez took on Jenna Skove in the semifinals round of the Championships. The junior would have no problem moving into the finals, dispatching of Skove in 12 games with a 6-0, 6-0 victory to move into the finals.Â
Taking on Agatha Malinowski of Stevens Institute of Technology, who played a marathon match earlier in the day, Fernandez struggled to get going in the first set. Malinowski played a strong rally stroke game, making Fernandez gut out long points which favored the No. 2 seed from Stevens.Â
WIth the first set tied at three, Malinowski earned the first break of the match, using that to earn a 6-3 win in the opening set. In between sets, Fernandez would talk things over with her coaches, and came out with a renewed focus in the second.
Fernandez was up 2-0 in the second, but was broke by Malinowski to put things back on serve. After Malinowski evened the second at two games apiece, Fernandez took over, using strong ground strokes and an overpowering first serve to take the second set 6-2.Â
In the 10-point tiebreaker, Fernandez jumped out quick to a 4-1 lead and led 4-2 at the first crossover. Up 8-4 at the second crossover following a great lob shot to go up 7-3, Fernandez earned the win after a 90-second rally as a backhand from Malinowski went wide to clinch the tournament.Â
