(Cleveland) Quebec’s Leylah Annie Fernandez beat Clara Tauson by retirement in the round of 16 of the Cleveland tournament on Tuesday after winning the first set 6-0.
Tauson had knocked out Barbora Krejcikova in the previous round.
The duel was between two 20-year-old players, in preparation for the United States Open, the last major tournament of the season.
Clara Tauson, 90th in the world, struggled on serve in the first set with a low 44% first-ball success rate.
Fernandez broke his opponent’s serve in the first game of the match and quickly built a 2-0 lead by confirming his break with his serve.
Fernandez, 72nd racket in the world, broke again the next game. She led 4-0 against the Dane in just a few minutes.
Fernandez, who beat Linda Noskova 6-0, 6-2 in the previous round, won the first set of her match for the second straight time. The Quebecer was perfect in the first set with three break points won in as many occasions.
Tauson won just two points on service reception in the first set.
Before the start of the second round, the Dane forfeited, thus conceding victory to Fernandez.
