Leylah Annie Fernandez in the 4th round for the first time in Paris

The young left-hander won by pick and shovel ahead of Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in three sets of 7-5, 3-6 and 7-5 in 2 hours 49 minutes of play on the Philippe-Chatrier court.

In a duel of sluggers from behind the field, Fernandez was able to speed up and show determination at the right time.

He’s a very, very good player, very, very good too. I just wanted to be more offensive than him, hit my winners and not wait for an involuntary mistake or an easy ball because he wouldn’t give up the fight like that.said the winner of the day.

It was a great victory and it was my first against Philippe-Chatrier in front of a pretty full stadium. It was a game I will remember for a long time and hopefully this won’t be the last time I play on this pitch. Hopefully I can put on a good show there again.

At the start of the third set, for example, Bencic, who was released, seemed to sail toward victory at 2-0 and lead 40-0. The 17th seed won the next five exchanges to destroy his rival and return to the thickness of the debate.

Quebecer once again broke the 14th seed to take a 4-3 lead. He had two brief replacements from the victory, but Bencic stole his service.

However, from the next game, Fernandez again managed the break. Then, on his second attempt to close out the game, he put all his first balls into play, with an ace in the way, and won the game by zero, an exclamation point of a determined performance.

Leylah Annie Fernandez already showed character in the first set. After leading 3-0, he saw himself come back tied at 3-3.

Bencic then managed to overtake his 19-year-old opponent to take a 5-4 lead. Switzerland had two more set points, Fernandez bravely defended who then faced his rival. Two games later, the Canadian took advantage of a fatal error from Bencic to break him and win the opening set after 57 minutes of intense play.

I just thought of the next point to have confidence in my tactics and to execute it as smoothly as possible, Fernandez added at the crucial moment of this match. If I miss, I’ll miss and that’s part of the game. I just need to find solutions.

The second round, meanwhile, changed from the third. At 40-0, Bencic won five consecutive rallies to smash their rival. Switzerland got the lone set break at 5-3, a shutout to boot.

This is the second duel between the two players. Fernandez also won his first Fed Cup, in Switzerland, in 2020.

In the next round, she will face American Amanda Anisimova, who benefited from Karolina Muchova’s withdrawal in the third set of their third-round duel due to injury.

Other 3rd round results:

• Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) lost. Angelique Kerber (GER/no 21) 6-4, 7-6 (7/5)
• Elise Mertens (BEL/no 31) defeated Varvara Gracheva (RUS) 6-2, 6-3
• Cori Gauff (USA/no 18) defeated Kaia Kanepi (EST) 6-3, 6-4
• Jil Teichmann (SUI/no 23) beats Victoria Azarenka (BLR/no 15) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10/5)
• Sloane Stephens (USA) defeated Diane Parry (FRA) 6-2, 6-3