Leylah, Djoko, Rafa and Amazon Prime

A sign that things are no longer the same in the world of Tennis Canada.

Before Leylah, Eugenie Bouchard had an extraordinary six months in 2014 where she reached the semi-final in Australia, at Roland-Garros, then the final at Wimbledon.

There was also 2019 for Bianca Andreescu, with her titles at Indian Wells, Toronto and, of course, New York.

But for Leylah Annie Fernandez, let’s say the final at the United States Open and at least quarter-final at Roland-Garros allows her to add her name to the discussion of the great streaks in Canadian tennis history.

He will play on Tuesday morning, 6 a.m. (EDT), in the quarter-finals at Philippe-Chatrier court. He is the highest ranked player on his side of the table with his 17th place in the WTA rankings.

Many have already seen him in the finals. He himself forbids, easier said than done, he agreed after his victory over Amanda Anisimova.

Even if the road is open, it was a mistake to let go of his rivals, starting with Italian Martina Trevisan.

It’s true that on paper, the 59th world doesn’t scare many people. However, he is on a good streak, winning a WTA 250 tournament in Morocco in May, beating Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, 10th in the world.

His style of play is very different from Fernandez’s last rivals. Smaller, the 28-year-old is a pure earthling who will compete in his second quarter-final in Paris.

However, aside from this quarter-final in 2020, he has yet to pass the second round of another grand slam.

Against Belinda Bencic and Amanda Anisimova, Leylah Annie Fernandez used the energy of her rivals ’blows to quickly retaliate. It needs to be more patient against Trevisan, less vigorous, but more regular.

Being the boss of exchanges is very different from destabilizing the counterattack.

If the 19-year-old left-hander is to answer the Trevisan challenge, he may have to face someone younger than him in the semi-finals.

American Coco Gauff, an expected rising star, plays great tennis and has not lost a set in Paris, including double matches.

Gauff will first face his compatriot Sloane Stephens.

Then, perhaps, we can talk about Iga Swiatek, who is still riding a 32-game undefeated.

Djokovic Nadal for the 59th and … last time?

There we are, from the quarter-finals. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will face off on Tuesday.

This will be the 59th duel between the two titans, the first since the two reached the huge milestone of 20 grand slam victories.

Djokovic leads 30-28 and he won the last duel, in the semi-finals at Roland-Garros in 2021, in four sets.

Is it too late for their duel on Tuesday? Rafael Nadal mentioned in a press briefing that this duel could, in case he loses, his last against Roland-Garros.

The toreador will be 36 on Friday and his repeated foot pain tells him that a year is getting longer for a tennis player as you get older.

He cited the hypothesis while trying to persuade his case to play against the day and not at night. Evening sessions have been new for two years at Roland-Garros.

If all of the day’s matches are broadcast on France Television channels, the evening sessions will be shown on Amazon Prime’s pay channel.

And the online ordering giant pays to have a choice of posters, even though its audience is smaller than France Television, France’s public and free broadcaster.

Nadal’s plea was not made in vain, as the Spaniard wanted to be seen by the largest possible audience in France. Moreover, the organizers of Roland-Garros have announced that the Amazon Prime channel will be very uncluttered and accessible to everyone for this promising duel.

No. If Nadal wants to play during the day, it’s to take advantage of some extra temperature levels in the afternoon. A tennis ball will bounce more in hot conditions, just like a golf ball will travel more in hot weather.

And since Nadal’s game is made of balls with hyper bouncy effects, a few degrees cooler at night, along with increased humidity on the pitch, will partially neutralize this advantage for the Spaniard.

The strikes of the king of clay, 13-time champion at Roland-Garros, are therefore easier to control by the opponent, especially for a Djokovic who is generally brilliant at returning service.

The stars, and even Nadal himself are half-hearted, are pointing to a victory for the 35-year-old Serb, champion of the last preparatory tournament in Rome and perfect in the 12 rounds so far in Paris.

Nadal, he gave two sets to Félix Auger-Aliassime, only the third player in history to push him to five sets at Roland-Garros. This allowed the Spaniard to prove that he could still push himself through his fighting spirit in moments of tension.

It remains to be seen if the foot will hold and if, more importantly, Nadal will be able to resist the urge of Djokovic to join him in the book of records with a 21st Grand Slam title.

Of course, this is not the final, but it will be like. In fact, it may be more of a final.