For the first time since reaching the final 2021, Leylah Annie Fernandez is into the third round of the US Open. She fought back from a set down to defeat Frenchwoman Elsa Jacquemot in three sets on Wednesday night in New York.
Fernandez got off to a nightmarish start but was able to put a poor first set behind her, upping her level as the match went along. She was able to wear down Jacquemot to escape with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
Despite errors being a big problem, especially in the first set when she had 16 in eight games, the Canadian managed to clean up her game as the match went along, finishing with 41 winners to her opponent’s 24. She only faced six break points, all in the opening set, while creating 13 opportunities on her opponent’s serve, of which she converted four.
It took four games for a player to hold serve in this match, and even then Jacquemot had to rally from love-30 down to get the hold for a 3-1 lead. Fernandez took far longer to get any kind of footing on her own serve. Errors were pouring off the Canadian’s racquet, including a double-fault to give Jacquemot another break point in the fifth game where the Frenchwoman teed off on a return to go up 4-1.
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Finally in the seventh game when she served to stay in it, Fernandez was able to get a hold. But it was too little, too late. Jacquemot raced out to a 40-love lead in the following game as she served out the set.
Fernandez set a very different tone to start the second set. She opened with a hold and then had a chance to break in Jacquemot’s first service game, although the Frenchwoman saved it with a big forehand winner.
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Still, it was the Canadian on the front foot throughout the second set. At 3-2, Jacquemot cracked under the consistent pressure Fernandez was piling on, skying a routine forehand to go down 15-40 and then missing a midcourt backhand to surrender the break. Critically, Fernandez was serving much better in the second set and once she had the break, the result seemed determined. While Jacquemot did save a few set points on her own serve in the eighth game, the Canadian never faced a break point in the second set and was able to serve it into a third.
It took no time for Fernandez to grab the lead in the decider. In the opening game on Jacquemot’s serve, the Canadian piled on the pressure and was rewarded with a couple of errors to secure an early break.
Like the second set, the serve for the Canadian was unrecognizable from the opener. With an early break in her pocket, Fernandez kept her foot on the gas. She never faced a break point in the third and added a second break for good measure in the seventh game before serving out the win.
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A familiar New York foe may be next in line for Fernandez, as she could meet world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round if the top seed defeats Polina Kudermetova. Fernandez beat Sabalenka in the 2021 semifinals during her magical run, the lone previous meeting between the pair.
The three Canadian men competing at the US Open, Denis Shapovalov, Félix Auger-Aliassime, and Gabriel Diallo, will all play their round-two matches on Thursday. Fernandez will also kick off her doubles campaign on Thursday alongside the great Venus Williams.
Feature Photo : Martin Sidorjak
