Kasatkina avenged her defeat in last year’s final, which she lost to Madison Keys, by winning her first title of the season in her fourth final this year.
It is the Russian’s first title in nearly two years and her seventh in total, and it was thoroughly deserved. Kasatkina has played superbly on the south coast throughout this week, displaying her superb variety as well as her excellent movement to underline her prowess on grass courts.
Fernandez too has been in fine form in Eastbourne, taking out the defending champion in the semi-finals with a brilliant performance before another impressive display in the final.
It was not quite enough for the Canadian to get over the line today, however, against an opponent who refused to fade in the second set despite a stirring fightback from Fernandez.
The opening set went the way of Kasatkina as two breaks at the start and end of the stanza book-ended an accomplished showing from the Russian.
But Fernandez had showed glimpses of her considerable talent throughout the opener, and she truly caught fire when trailing by a set and a break early in the second. When 3-0 down, the Canadian fought back with four consecutive games to move a break up at 4-3 in a wonderful passage of play from both players, despite Kasatkina’s serve deserting her temporarily.
However, that fightback was short-lived as the Russian quickly regrouped to extinguish the Fernandez flame, breaking straight back before sealing the title with a fifth break of serve in what was an abrupt and somewhat anti-climactic finish to an otherwise highly entertaining contest.
Ranked 30th in the world, Fernandez will be seeded for Wimbledon and heads into the tournament with a real chance for a deep run. Her talent on hard courts is well-known, courtesy of her superb run to the final of the 2021 US Open as a 19-year-old. But over the past two weeks she has shown exceptional grass-court prowess, reaching the last eight in Birmingham before this week’s run to the final in Eastbourne.
Despite coming up short, there is much evidence to suggest she is moving rapidly in the right direction, as she herself alluded to in her post-match speech.
“I’d like to thank my team for being there with me throughout this week and pushing me throughout the past couple of months,” she said.
“The hard work is paying off. Now we have to keep going, keep working hard and never quit. Thank you so much for having my back. Hopefully we have many more of these finals.”
As for Kasatkina, her form on the grass has never been in question. But today she quelled some doubts about her ability to get over the line at the last hurdle, after three previous final berths this year had yielded no titles.
With her back against the wall in the face of the Fernandez fightback in the second set, the world No 14 showed great resolve to steady the ship, rediscover her first serve and then sprint to the finish line.
“Thanks to my team. It’s been a long road to the title, but I’m really proud of us,” Kasatkina said in her winner’s speech.
“I’m proud of the work we put in and the outcome. Thank you so much for being next to me. It doesn’t matter how bad it is or how good it is, thank you to my coach.”
Both players now have a very quick turnaround before the grass-court Grand Slam gets underway in two days’ time.
Kasatkina plays on the Monday, facing Zhang Shuai in the first round, so will have little time to savour her title in Eastbourne. Fernandez also starts on the opening day, facing a tough test in Lucia Bronzetti.
Should they recover sufficiently quickly to navigate those first-round encounters, however, both players will be ones to keep a close eye on over the Wimbledon fortnight.
Their highly eye-catching performances on the south coast over the past seven days has made them opponents no one in the field at SW19 will want to face.
