Leylah Annie Fernandez delivered a scrappy, determined performance to kick off her campaign at the Wuhan Open on Monday, causing the first upset on day one by defeating No. 12 seed Diana Shnaider in three sets.
It was a back-and-forth battle, with each woman dropping a set which they led by a break. When the dust settled at the end of a dramatic decider, it was Fernandez marching into the second round with a 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-3 win, her second over Shnaider in the last three 1000 events.
Despite some inconsistency on her serve, Fernandez was ruthless when she was able to land her first delivery, winning 79 per cent of her first-serve points. She also did a better job of limiting break point chances, facing seven on her own serve while creating 13 on Shnaider’s, seven of which she converted.
The momentum swings started early with Shnaider breaking serve in the opening game and holding to go up 2-0, only for Fernandez to go on a four-game run that included two breaks to take a 4-2 lead. She then led 5-3, 40-15 on her own serve but was could not out the opening set, with Shnaider saving three set points on her way to a break and eventually levelling at 5-5.
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That failure to close out came back to haunt Fernandez when she fell behind early in the tiebreak. While she saved set points from 4-6 down and had another chance to finish it at 7-6, she eventually dumped a forehand into the net on the 12th seed’s third set point.
Set two was a bit more routine. Fernandez went up love-40 in Shnaider’s second service game and, despite missing the first three break points, was able to get the early 2-1 lead. The Canadian saved a couple of break points in the sixth game and then broke again to close out the set when Shnaider sent a backhand long.
The third set was reminiscent of the first, with Shnaider breaking in the opening game before Fernandez got hot with two breaks of her own but could not maintain the lead. This time, the Canadian only led by as much as 3-1 and was broken back immediately after her second break on a highlight-reel passing shot from Shnaider.
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Unlike the opening set, Fernandez kept her foot on the gas after her edge slipped away, breaking in the eighth game to set herself up to serve out the match at 5-3. At 30-all, she pulled out a spectacular passing shot of her own, sprinting the length of the court to chase down a backhand that she punched up the line to set up match point. The 12th seed fired a forehand long to send Fernandez into the second round.
Fernandez awaits the winner between last week’s Beijing runner-up Karolina Muchova and Moyuka Uchijima. Another win could set up a round-three clash with No. 5 seed and home favourite Qinwen Zheng.
