PARIS – Canadian Leylah Fernandez defeated American Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals of the French Open.
Fernandez, 19, had more than twice as many winners, 35, than unforced errors, 17, and continued his impressive return to the tournament. He broke Anisimova six times and has now won 23 serve games from his opponents in four games.
Fernandez, runner-up at the 2021 U.S. Open, had never won more than two consecutive mainframe matches on clay until this trip to Paris.
“Today I was able to fight through some difficult times and I was only able to enjoy the game as much as possible,” he said. “Just having another chance to play (the track) Philippe Chatrier … it was an amazing atmosphere and a great feeling for me.”
Fernández, the youngest player to win a WTA title in 2022, is the 17th seed at the French Open and will face Italian Martina Trevisan on Tuesday.
Trevisan, 59th, beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-6 (10), 7-5 on Sunday.
“Every time I go out on the track, I still have something to prove,” said Fernandez, who only finished 73rd last September when she defeated four-time senior champion Naomi Osaka on the way to being runner-up. Emma Raducanu. and Flushing Meadows. “I still have this mentality that I’m the underdog. I’m still young.”
Also in action on Sunday, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal fell to 21-time Grand Slam winner and 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in a five-set thriller by 6-3, 3- 6, 2-6, 6-3. , 6-3.
Nadal marked his ticket to the quarterfinals of Roland-Garros, where world number one Novak Djokovic awaits him.
With files from The Associated Press.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 29, 2022.