Canada's Leylah Fernandez, seen above in August, downed Russia's Mirra Andreeva in three sets on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open.
21-year-old fires 4 aces in 3-set win over Russia’s Mirra Andreeva
Leylah Fernandez from Canada secured her spot in the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open on Thursday with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over Russia’s Mirra Andreeva.
The 21-year-old Fernandez fired four aces, converted six of her 11 break-point opportunities and needed less than two hours to overcome the 16-year-old Andreeva.
Leylah Fernandez also won 17 of her 27 net approaches, and fired 36 winners to Andreeva’s 16.
“She’s very tough to play against,” said Fernandez. “I’m very happy with the way I fought and the way I found solutions. I wasn’t afraid of going to the net even though I was missing a lot.”
Leylah Fernandez, of Laval, Que., will next face Linda Fruhvirtova of Czechia ,who beat Russian Alina Korneeva 6-4, 7-5 on Thursday.
It will mark the first career meeting between Fernandez, ranked 60th on the WTA Tour, and No. 88 Fruhvirtova.
Fernandez had strong start to the tournament, capitalizing on the early exit of the tournament’s top seed, Victoria Azarenka.
Azarenka, a two-time Grand Slam champion, retired during their first-round match on Tuesday with a leg injury after the two players had split the first two sets.
