Leylah Annie Fernandez knows how to put out the big game, when it counts. Quebecer reached the quarter-finals of the Roland-Garros tournament for the first time in his young career.
On a cold Sunday on the Philippe-Chatrier court, Lavalloise won three sets 6-3 4-6 and 6-3 ahead of American Amanda Anisimova.
The 19-year-old ended the duel on the second match point. However, his success was never really in doubt.
Although the American shots were heavier and sometimes unstoppable, the strength and determination of the little left hand emerged at crucial points. At the start of the third set, Fernandez dramatically saved three consecutive break points to stay on par with his rival.
Under the watchful eye of former soccer player and former Montreal Impact coach Thierry Henry, the 14th seed ended his match in 1 h 54 min. The Canadian had 35 wins against 17 unforced errors.
Today’s match is very complicated, Amanda is a very good player, Fernandez said in a field interview. I was so excited to play in front of an audience like you and in front of Thierry Henry. Thank you for coming. Thank you to the public for the encouragement, I will not win without you.
I know he will win a lot, you have to accept and start again, Fernandez added. Solutions need to be found.
At the start of the match, Quebecer took advantage of the slow start from the American to quickly distance itself and take a 4-0 lead. Anisimova, 28th in the world, often shapeless and lacking in success, gave up her serving three times to her rival before finally being able to win the first game holding the ball.
In fact, he didn’t get a point in the second serve in the first set.
Anisimova had an energy boost and stopped four set points before finally giving up.
The American, semi-finalist at Roland-Garros in 2019 at age 17, then controlled the second set, primarily earning 18 winning strokes and winning 55% of the points on his second serving.
Leylah Annie Fernandez, however, showed character by destroying her rival when she served for the round. The American, however, intended the same fate for his opponent in the next game to win 6-4.
In her next match, Fernandez will face Italian Martina Trevisan who defeated Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 47th in the world, in two sets of 7-6 (12-10) 7-5.
Trevisan, 59th in the world, has still not lost a single round since the tournament began. He also reached the ocher quarter-finals in Paris in 2020, after going through the qualifiers.
For her, Leylah Annie Fernandez, Roland-Garros champion in the juniors in 2019, Leylah Fernandez, is especially excited to be worthy of another chance to play on the Philippe-Chatrier court on Tuesday.
A few years ago, even before my junior years, I wanted to play here at Philippe-Chatrier, Quebecer said. I am happy that my work, my dad’s, my family and my team are bringing results and giving me the opportunity to play another game here.
The athlete from Laval became the fourth Canadian to reach the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros. The latter was Eugénie Bouchard, in 2014.
A victory in his next game will also allow him to approach some world top 10 points.
Fernandez is the highest-ranked player of all the contenders still under the table at Roland-Garros, sheltered from Polish Iga Swiatek, even until the final.
What a wonderful opportunity. Very nice.
Source: Radio-Canada
