Journey, Billy Idol, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard… They all had their part to play in Leylah Annie Fernandez’s first career victory in Montreal at the National Bank Open on Tuesday afternoon.
“Before my matches, I like to listen to music from the 80s. It gives me motivation, it calms my nerves. I listen to Don’t Stop Believing, it’s my favorite song, “dropped the Quebecer, an hour after her final victory of 6-3, 6-2 against American Peyton Stearns.
As Journey sings, Fernandez believed it. Even if it is going through a difficult season. Even if some doubted them.
The young woman was in full possession of her faculties and it showed from her first racket shots. An hour and sixteen minutes later, she was waving to the crowd with a toothy grin. She had just reached the second round of the Montreal tournament for the first time in her young career.
In a press conference, Fernandez recalled the time when she went to this same stadium to watch the matches of her predecessors on the circuit.
“At the time, it was the Rogers Cup. I came with my family and the atmosphere was amazing. It has always been a dream of mine to play here in front of full stands. The crowd was sensational for me. »
While Fernandez herself called her match “solid”, she explained that it turned out to be “more difficult” than expected. “I’m happy that I was able to execute my game plan,” she summed up.
The Canadian and the American had faced each other only a few weeks ago, at the Grand Prix Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem – the Rabat tournament, for the close friends. Stearns had the upper hand in three sets. The duel, however, was contested on clay.
“She was hitting a lot more punches today and returning more,” Stearns said of Fernandez. We had faced each other on clay, so it’s very different from hard court. We have a little more time on clay. But she really came out strong and played really well. »
Fernandez therefore continues his promising return to the hard surface. In Washington last week, the 81st racket in the world had won its two matches in qualifications, then that of the first round, three victories against players higher ranked than it, before being beaten by the Greek María Sákkari, who was finalist.
This time, however, the opposition was not of the same caliber. Stearns, 21, had multiple unforced errors and was unable to establish his serve. Fernandez only had to stay the course, avoid mistakes and take advantage of those of his opponent.
“There was a bit of nervousness at the end of the first set, but Peyton started to play well,” she said. She made fewer mistakes, she started hitting harder. I just tried to take it one point at a time.
The Quebecer excelled on serve, hitting five aces. A noteworthy fact for the one whose main strength it is not.
“I’m not used to it, but I’m happy with the way I served. I was able to serve well in important moments. […] It is one of our short-term objectives, to improve my services, and I am happy to have been able to execute it today. »
It’s no longer a secret that Fernandez is struggling to find the game that took her to the 2021 U.S. Open final. On Tuesday, we saw a bit of that game again.
The main interested party, she considers to be “better” today than two years ago, even if the results are not always there.
“In 2021, I was a completely different person. Now I have the experience. I’ve been through good things and not so good things,” she explained.
“There are games that will be lost, but the important thing is to make the necessary corrections,” she added.
In the next round, Fernandez will face 11th-seeded Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, who defeated Poland’s Magdalena Fręch 6-4, 6-2. This will be the third duel between Fernandez and Haddad Maia; they won one match each. It was in Toronto, last year, that Haddad Maia had defeated the original Lavalloise.
“It’s a big game, she’s a very good player. She has an incredible year, good results. She has a lot of confidence. I’ll just try to take it one point at a time. I’m going to talk about that with my coach, see what the game plan is. »
