Shnaider beats Fernandez in three sets to lift Pan Pacific Open, extends perfect finals run to six

Tokyo: Russia's Diana Shnaider overcame a second-set collapse to beat Canada's Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday and claim the Pan Pacific Open title in Tokyo. The 22-year-old eased through the opening set but saw her rhythm desert her in the second, allowing Fernandez to force a decider. Shnaider then had to save three break points early in the third set before pulling clear to close out the match in two hours and 18 minutes. The title carries extra weight because it is Shnaider's sixth consecutive final won on the WTA Tour. Put simply, every time she has reached a title match in recent times, she has walked away with the trophy—a record that speaks directly to her composure under pressure. "I want to say thanks to and congratulate my coach, who is here with me, for achieving our first title this season," Shnaider said. "It definitely means a lot, a great achievement and great finish of this season." The match followed a clear arc. In the first set, Shnaider's left-handed serve pulled Fernandez wide and she controlled the first strike in rallies. The second set flipped: her first-serve percentage dropped, her returns sat short, and Fernandez stepped inside the baseline to take charge, converting her chances to level the match. The deciding set began nervously for Shnaider. Three break points had to be saved on her own serve in the early games, and that sequence proved the turning point. Having survived it, she varied pace and placement, denied Fernandez a way back into the match, and dropped only two games in the set. For Fernandez, this was a second straight final. Last week she lost to world number one Elena Rybakina at the Ningbo Open, having won the Singapore Open in September. She has been one of the most consistent players on the Asian swing. "I would like to congratulate Diana. Congratulations. An amazing week, a great match. Congratulations to you and your team. Hopefully we can have many more battles like this one," Fernandez said. For Shnaider, this is her first title of the season, and she was quick to credit her team. Her coach's presence—and the fact that this was their first title together—suggests a new partnership already producing results. Technically, the contest came down to who could impose their pattern. Shnaider's left-handed serve opens the court; Fernandez's backhand and early ball-striking counter it. In the first and third sets Shnaider prevented Fernandez from settling into rallies; in the second, the Canadian extended points and capitalised on her opponent's impatience. The result matters for the end-of-season picture. Tournaments on the Asian swing shape the final standings and the race for the year-end championships, and a title of this kind delivers both points and confidence. For Shnaider it builds a platform for next season; for Fernandez, reaching consecutive finals shows her consistency is returning. Tokyo is played on hard courts, where sharp rallies and serve dominance decide matches. Surviving a three-setter with this many momentum swings says something about Shnaider's physical and mental readiness at this level. The two-hour 18-minute contest tested both players' endurance and concentration. The loss will hurt Fernandez, but her recent run—a title in Singapore, a final in Ningbo, and now a final in Tokyo—marks a new phase in her career. Only the biggest points in the final matches are going against her, and that is the area her training can target next. For Shnaider, the victory reinforces a remarkable finals record. Winning six straight finals on tour is a statistic usually associated with the very top of the game. At 22, it makes her a serious contender for the coming years, particularly in the closing stages of major events. Elsewhere, Carlos Alcaraz reached his first Vienna Open final and will face Alex de Minaur, who upset Alexander Zverev in the semifinals—another sign of how competitive the tour has become at the tail end of the season. Overall, the Tokyo final was a contest between two young players decided less by technique than by composure on the big points. Shnaider showed that managing a match when the game starts slipping is the real craft, while Fernandez demonstrated that reaching finals week after week is an achievement in itself.