2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez
entered her third-round match against Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva
at the National Bank Open on Friday having lost her last seven matches against Top 10 opponents.
She snapped that streak in a big way to match her best-ever result at her country’s signature event, and is primed for a Round of 16 clash with Naomi Osaka
.
Fernandez routed the No. 5 seed 6-1, 6-4 in 1 hour and 21 minutes to return to not just the Round of 16 in Toronto, a result she previously recorded in Montreal in 2023, but score her first Top 10 victory in more than a year. She last beat a player ranked as highly as Andreeva when she beat then-World No. 4 Jessica Pegula
on the way to winning the Mubadala DC Open last year.
Fernandez cruised against an out-of-sorts Andreeva up until 6-1, 5-1, when the 20-year-old came alive to hold from 0-30 in the eighth game and close the game to 5-4. But a key forehand miss at 0-15 on Fernandez’s serve at 5-4 turned what turned out the be the final game around, and the No. 30 seed wrapped up the win three points later.(WTA)
Pinoy Edmonton News 