(Nanchang) Leylah Annie Fernandez is uncompromising these days, and she reached the final four of the Jiangxi Open on Friday after defeating Belarus player Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3, 6-4 in the quarters of final.
It was the 21-year-old Quebecer’s second victory of the day. The 43rd world racket defeated China’s You Xiaodi 6-4, 6-1 in the round of 16 earlier on Friday.
Fernandez is seeking a second consecutive title after triumphing at the Hong Kong tournament last week. She will face the Czech Katerina Siniakova, 60th in the world, in the semi-finals. The two players met in the final in Hong Kong, and the Quebecer won 3-6, 6-4 and 6-4.
Against Sasnovich, Fernandez was particularly effective in serving. She won 67% of the points with her first serve, and 50% with her second — compared to just 35.7 for her rival. The Quebecer also converted four of her seven break points and only gave up her serve twice, during this duel which continued for an hour and 23 minutes.
In Tokyo, Félix Auger-Aliassime’s journey ended abruptly on Friday.
The Quebecer, eighth seed in the tournament, was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Marcos Giron of the United States in two sets of 6-1, 6-4.
Félix Auger-Aliassime’s first serve percentage was only 54%. In addition, he committed five double faults, compared to only one for Giron.
Another quarter-final match pitted two Americans against each other. Ben Shelton disposed of fifth-seeded Tommy Paul, also in straight sets, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
