Leylah Annie Fernandez was very hot in the first round of the Italian Open in Rome on Monday. The Canadian was jostled by Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. He won three sets 1-6, 6-2 and 6-2.
Fernandez, the 18th player in the world, has only faced Pavlyuchenkova (20th) once. It was 2021 at Indian Wells, and the fight was tough and played in three sets.
Quebecer saw his opponent start the game like a lion. Destabilized and unable to adjust his serve, he lost hard in the first set in 36 minutes.
He only won 41% of the points on his first serve and only 40% on his second. His 30-year-old opponent didn’t ask for much and was able to break him twice.
As if stabbed in his self -esteem, Fernandez quickly recovered in the second set.
With better service (77% victory on his first serve) and more accurate shots, he was able to take a 4-1 lead after breaking his opponent’s serve in the fifth game. He won the second set in 42 min.
He continued his effort in the third set to take a 3-1 and then 4-1 lead by breaking the Russian’s serve, which in turn was overwhelmed. The match ended after 1 h 50 min of effort and doubt.
In the next round, Fernandez will face Russian Daria Kasatkina, 23rd in the WTA.
Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu will face defending US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Great Britain on Tuesday.
For her part, Romanian Simona Halep, former No. 1, had an easier time to overcome the first hurdle.
She defeated French Alizé Cornet in two sets 6-4, who used indiscriminately cushioning to try to surprise her opponent. But there was no success.
Other results of the day:
- Victoria Azarenka (BLR/no 16) defeated Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 6-3, 6-0
- Petra Martic (CRO) defeated Karolina Muchova (CZE) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
- Zhang Shuai (CHN) defeated Martina Trevisan (ITA) 6-4, 6-2
- Belinda Bencic (SUI/no 12) defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) 6-4, 6-2
- Darya Kasatkina (RUS) defeated Tamara Zidansek (SLO) 6-4, 6-3
- Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) defeated Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-1
Source: Radio-Canada
