Following close on the heels of the Canada Team victory at the April 16 Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers in Vancouver, BC, Canadian Filipino tennis phenom Leylah Annie Fernandez advances to the second round of the Madrid Open with three-set wins on April 29.
Fernandez, now ranked 20thin the world, beat German qualifier Andrea Petkovic and will face Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann (ranked number 35) on May 1. Also advancing to the second round is Bianca Andreescu who took a few months’ break following her loss in October 2021 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
The team’s 3-0 sweep led by Fernandez at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers takes Team Canada to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with 11 other qualifiers to be held in November this year.
Fernandez, the runner-up at the 2021 U.S. Open, won 65.4 per cent of available points in the first set and did not face a break point. Petkovic returned the favour in the second set, winning 72.7 per cent of points and breaking the Canadian twice in three chances.
Petkovic, a former world No. 9, led 2-0 in the third set before Fernandez rallied to win the first meeting between the players.
Teichmann defeated Fernandez in straight sets in their only previous meeting in 2020 at a Billie Jean King Cup qualifying tie. Teichmann has a perfect record against Fernandez, defeating her 7-6 (4), 6-4 in a Billie Jean King Cup tie between Canada and Switzerland in 2020.
This year’s Madrid Open runs until May 8: https://www.madrid-open.com/en/mmo-en/
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