Canada's Leylah Fernandez rolls to victory in 1st match since U.S. Open - CBC.ca

Canadian Leylah Fernandez is picking up right where she left off.

The 19-year-old, playing in her first tournament since a stunning run to the U.S. Open final in September, defeated France's Alizé Cornet 6-2, 6-3 in her opening match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., on Friday.

Montreal's Fernandez will next play Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round. 

"I'm very happy with the way I played. I trained very hard after that final, just wanting to be back here in my first Indian Wells," Fernandez said in her post-match on-court interview.

WATCH | Fernandez cruises into 3rd round:

Leylah Annie Fernandez cruises into 3rd round at Indians Wells

44 minutes ago

Leylah Annie Fernandez of Laval, Que., defeats France's Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-3 in her opening match at the BNP Paribas Open. This is Fernandez's first tournament since her stunning run at the U.S. Open. 3:35

The 23rd-seeded Canadian started blisteringly hot against the 64th-ranked Cornet, winning five consecutive games in the opening set while only conceding six total points.

Though the wily 31-year-old Frenchwoman fought back to win two straight games, Fernandez closed out the set by breaking Cornet. Cornet, who played with wrap on her right leg, met with a trainer in between sets and took a three-minute medical timeout before returning with matching wrap on her left leg.

Cornet kept things closer to begin the second set, but Fernandez eventually pulled away, winning the final three games to seal the victory.

On Thursday, Fernandez teamed with 17-year-old American Coco Gauff for a 6-1, 6-1 doubles win in the Round of 32 over Romania's Irina Camelia-Begu and Czechia's Renata Vorácová.

But the win over Cornet was Fernandez's first singles match since falling to Britain's Emma Raducanu in the U.S. Open final.

Four other Canadians are competing in California.

Ninth-seeded Denis Shapovalov plays 68th-ranked compatriot Vasek Pospisil in the second round on Saturday after the latter came back to defeat American J.J. Wolf in the Round of 128.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, seeded seventh, awaits Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the second round on Sunday.

WATCH | Previewing the Canadians at Indian Wells:

What should we expect from Canada’s rising tennis stars at Indian Wells?

2 days ago

Anastasia Bucsis is joined by Vivek Jacob to preview the 2021 BNP Paribas Open, as Canada’s young tennis stars Bianca Andreescu, Leylah Fernandez, Dennis Shapovalov, and Felix Auger-Aliassime are looking to leave their mark at Indian Wells. 5:39

Meanwhile, reigning Indian Wells champion Bianca Andreescu is also automatically through to the Round of 64, where she'll face American Alison Riske.

Normally held in March, the tournament known colloquially as the "fifth Slam" was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic after being cancelled outright in 2020. Andreescu won in 2019, kicking off her memorable season in which she went on to win titles at the Rogers Cup and U.S. Open, too.

The tournament, a joint ATP and WTA 1000-point event, carries a total prize pool of around $17 million US.

Earlier, Raducanu came down to earth in her first tournament since the U.S. Open, losing in straight sets to Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Raducanu, who was born in Toronto, lost 6-2, 6-4 in the second round, ending her 10-match winning streak that began in New York. She received a wild-card into the combined ATP and WTA tournament in the Southern California desert.

Former world No. 1 Andy Murray beat Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-2 in his first match as a wild-card. Murray fired five aces and connected on 82 per cent of his first serves against the French lefty-hander. Murray converted three of six break points; Mannarino failed in his lone chance to break.

Adblock test (Why?)

Canada's Leylah Fernandez rolls to victory in 1st match since U.S. Open - CBC.ca
Read More