TORONTO — Leylah Fernandez spent two days dissecting one opponent's game and had to pivot quickly before hitting Centre Court on home soil on Wednesday.
Fernandez was originally scheduled to face China's Zhang Shuai in the first round of the National Bank Open at Toronto's Sobeys Stadium, but the WTA Tour's 63rd-ranked player was scratched because of a viral illness and replaced by Japan's Nao Hibino on short notice.
Despite a roller-coaster performance, Fernandez handled that curveball to advance and secure a spot in the second round of Canada's national tennis championship, defeating Hibino 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
"I found out about the change around 4:30 (p.m.)," said the tournament's 15th seed, who faced Hibino some 2 1/2 hours later. "We'd just spent a good amount, like 48 hours, of analyzing.
"But a change of opponent happens — it's last minute — we've just got to go with the flow."
The 21-year-old Laval, Que., product improved to 4-1 against Hibino after the win.
Fernandez started brightly and blasted her second ace of the match to close out the first set.
She was serving for the match and two points away from victory before Hibino (No. 151) pushed back to take a nervy, back-and-forth second set 7-5 that was starting to look eerily similar to Bianca Andreescu's meltdown some 24 hours earlier on the same surface.
"There was a big dip and I guess I gave her confidence," said Fernandez, the No. 25 player in the world. "I wasn't the one that was offensive, the aggressor — she was. That was a big difference.
"It's a set that I would like to forget."
Fernandez, who made the third round of last year's NBO in Montreal, settled down and went up an early break in the third set to take a 2-1 lead after digging out of a hole on serve the previous game.
The U.S. Open finalist in 2021 then broke her opponent again with a sliced drop shot for a 4-1 lead before securing a third break to seal the win.
Next up is qualifier Ashlyn Krueger (No. 82) of the U.S. in Thursday's second round. The pair's only head-to-head came in June on grass at the Rothesay International when the Canadian picked up an emphatic 6-2, 6-1 victory.
"I didn't play too well," Fernandez said in summarizing Wednesday's performance. "Too many mistakes."
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., joined her compatriot in the second round after the 19-year-old came back to defeat Russia's Erika Andreeva 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4 in her first NBO main-draw appearance.
Stakusic, who entered the week ranked 160th, will face Taylor Townsend on Thursday.
The 71st-ranked American lost in qualifying, but earned a spot in the women's bracket as an injury replacement before first-round opponent and No. 16 seed Dayana Yastremska retired in Tuesday's second set with Townsend up 6-3, 3-1.
Vancouver's Rebecca Marino, meanwhile, lost her first-round match 6-3, 6-4 to Poland's Magda Linette on Wednesday.
In other notable action at the US$3.2-million women's event that saw a boatload of withdrawals last week — including the top-ranked Iga Swiatek — defending champion and No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula of the U.S. beat Czechia's Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 6-4 to advanced to the third round.
Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka of Japan defeated No. 9 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6-3, 6-1. No. 1 seed Coco Gauff of the U.S. and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will hit the court for their second-round matches Thursday.
The first Canadian to win the event in 55 years back in 2019, Andreescu was eliminated Tuesday night after the Mississauga native dropped her first-round match 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko.
Stakusic, who grew up attending the Toronto leg of the event and got a spot in the draw as a wild card, envisioned herself on this stage as a kid.
"It was really nice to see everybody cheering," she said. "It was amazing just to have the support."
Fernandez, meanwhile, will have a busy Thursday.
She's also set to compete in doubles with younger sister Bianca in the second round against the American duo of Krueger — her singles opponent hours earlier — and Catherine Harrison.
"I'm just happy that I get to share the court with her," Fernandez said of playing alongside Bianca. "Hopefully, it goes well and we get to continue this adventure."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2024.
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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
