(Indian Wells) Quebecer Leylah Fernandez lost 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 to Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in Indian Wells on Monday.
Fifth seed, Garcia has therefore earned her place in the round of 16, where Sorana Cirstea will be waiting for her.
Shortly after his 11th ace, Garcia made it happen with a parallel forehand that hit the line.
Ranked 49th in the WTA, Fernandez was the 30th seed at the California tournament.
Garcia had three breaks, including two in the final inning, for cushions of 3-1 and 5-1. The Lavalloise let slip the two break points she obtained.
Prior to the break giving him a 3-1 lead, Garcia had won the third game to nil, on serve. She also shut out Fernandez twice in the first set, including a break.
Fernandez and Garcia had met only once, resulting in Garcia’s victory earlier this year in Melbourne in the second round.
Last month and earlier in March, Garcia was beaten in the final in Lyon and Monterrey by Alycia Parks and Donna Vekic.
Fernandez’s compatriot, Bianca Andreescu will have a heavy task in the evening, against the favorite and defending champion Iga Swiatek.
The Pole defeated the Ontarian last year in Rome, on clay.
Andreescu won the California tournament in 2019, the year she became queen of Flushing Meadows. She now sits 36th in the WTA.
10th seeded Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina defeated her doubles partner Paula Badosa of Spain in straight sets 6-3, 7-5.
Emma Raducanu, champion in New York two years ago, beat Beatriz Haddad Maia (no 13) 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. Meanwhile, Tunisian Ons Jabeur (#4) was eliminated by Czech Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-4.
On the men’s side, Quebec’s Félix Auger-Aliassime, seeded eighth, defeated Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-4.
He will face 17th seeded American Tommy Paul in the next round. The latter was the winner of the Pole Hubert Hurkacz 4-6, 6-2 and 6-4.
Defending tournament champion Taylor Fritz made short work of Sebastian Baez as he triumphed 6-1, 6-2 in the third round. Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka defeated No. 7 Holger Rune in straight sets 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Rune saved a match point and erased a 5-2 deficit to win the second set in a tiebreaker. Wawrinka pulled himself together in the final round, however.
Favorite Carlos Alcaraz will also be in action on Monday, as will veteran Andy Murray.
