Canadian tennis star Leylah Annie Fernandez may not have had the National Bank Open performance she hoped for, but she appears to be back at the top of her game.
Fernandez delivered a stunning performance at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday as she rallied from a set down to upset highly favoured opponent Elena Rybakina in the round of 32.
Fernandez lost the first set 3-6 but fought back against Rybakina, who sits fourth on the WTA rankings. Fernandez saved two match points to claim the second set in a tense tiebreak. The Laval, Quebec, native, ranked 26th in the world, then completed the comeback with a decisive 6-4 win in the final set.
Finished with a slice 💫@LeylahFernandez takes out Rybakina for her 3rd career win against a Top 4 opponent 🤩#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/gpJ5y2Janz
— wta (@WTA) August 15, 2024
This victory, one of her biggest of the year, sends the 21-year-old into Cincinatti’s round of 16.
As the highest-seeded Canadian at the NBO in Toronto, Fernandez was upset in her second-round singles match in straight sets by American Ashlyn Kreuger (ranked 82nd in the world).
However, her home tournament wasn’t a complete disappointment as she advanced to the semifinals on the doubles circuit with her sister Bianca. Nevertheless, success in one discipline doesn’t always translate to the other.
“Sometimes a nice doubles run does help on the singles, other times it just helps only in doubles, sometimes a singles run helps in doubles, so you never really know what a player feels,” Fernandez told reporters, alongside her sibling, in Toronto last week.
“For me, the only thing I do know is that I’m going to keep my head down, work hard, and keep improving every day, and hopefully, the results will come. I can’t control wins or losses, but what I can control is my attitude and my dedication and my hard work.”