Canadian Leylah Fernandez plays a shot against Storm Sanders of Australia during the National Bank Open, part of the Hologic WTA Tour, at Sobeys Stadium. Fernandez won in three sets on Aug. 8, 2022 in Toronto.VAUGHN RIDLEY/Getty Images
Leylah Annie Fernandez is off to the second round of the National Bank Open, after a tense three-set victory over Australian qualifier Storm Sanders that stretched late into Monday night.
Despite letting two match points slip through her fingers in the second set, the Montreal teen gutted it out 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-3 in a topsy-turvy first-round match at the WTA’s lone Canadian tour stop.
Just back from a two-month injury hiatus, the 19-year-old Canadian had to squash a fierce comeback attempt by the 27-year-old Australian in a battle of lefties on opening night at York University.
Fernandez had been sidelined since suffering a stress fracture in her right foot while making a deep run at Roland Garros in May. She missed Wimbledon, Washington’s Citi Open, and an exhibition with American teen star Coco Gauff. But her doctor finally gave the green light in time for Toronto.
Rain showers caused their match to start two hours later than scheduled. The Canadian world No. 14 played in red and white and garnered overwhelming favour with the Centre Court crowd. She said the crowd gave her goosebumps. It was her third trip to this Canadian tournament, yet coming into Monday Fernandez was still seeking her first win at the event.
The teen, who speaks English, French and Spanish, pumped her fist and hollered in all three languages – reminiscent of her thrilling run to the U.S. Open final last September. She kept looking into the crowd at her dad and coach Jorge Fernandez for support.
Fernandez could have finished off the match in 90 minutes when she first faced a match point at 6-5 in the second set, with the fans cheering her wildly. Then it happened again. Instead the Australian held serve, and they wrestled through a tiebreak, with the qualifier seeming to pick up confidence every time she hit the ball. The Aussie stole the set, forcing a third set, extending her stay on the court at this WTA 1000 event.
“I was pretty disappointed with myself that I couldn’t convert,” Fernandez said. “Storm did an excellent job in staying in the match and fighting. … I was able to look at my box and my corner and I just saw my dad saying, ‘Just keep fighting, keep working through it,’ like, it’s not going to be the easiest match.”
That set too was tight. The pair kept dueling past 11:30 p.m. ET.
“I think after not playing for two months, I had a lot of expectations for myself to play an amazing match, that everything’s gonna fall in, and like my serve, my return, my forehand is gonna work like I wanted to, but it did not,” Fernandez said. “It’s obviously not my best level, but I was just happy that I was able to fight through all these emotions.”
Next up she will face unseeded Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia. Fernandez faces a tough section of the draw, which also features world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
“My body feels amazing,” she said of her first real physical test after two months off.
Even after the late night, she will pair with her younger sister Bianca Fernandez in doubles on Tuesday. It’s not just a nice opportunity for the siblings to team up, but also designed to give her more matches after missing a chunk of the hardcourt season.
Fellow Canadian Bianca Andreescu – the 2019 champion at this event – is unseeded and opens play Tuesday night. Ranked No. 53, the Mississauga native faces Russia’s world No. 9, Daria Kasatkina.