(New York) Quebec’s Leylah Fernandez defended very well before losing 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday.
Alexandrova is the 22nd seed in the New York tournament.
A finalist at Flushing Meadows two years ago, Fernandez is No. 67 in the WTA.
Alexandrova sealed the victory with her eighth break-only one more than the 20-year-old Lavalloise.
Fernandez conceded the first set by escaping the last three points via unforced errors once the score was at 4-4, breaking a deadlock.
In the second set, the Canadian leveled at 3-3, keeping her serve winning five in a row from 0-40. She took a 6-5 lead on a ball lodged on the baseline, handcuffing her rival.
Shortly after, there was a magnificent exchange of 23 blows which ended when the Quebecer landed a winning shot on a sideline, to save a break point. Then, two consecutive unforced errors by the Russian allowed the Canadian to win the set.
Alexandrova showed her intentions early in the final set, taking the lead 3-0. Fernandez persevered, then an awkward drop shot allowed it to tie 3-3.
After an additional break on each side, Alexandrova won her serve before ending the match with an eighth break, three hours and five minutes into the game.
The Russian managed a pass to get a first match point, converted thanks to a volley.
Fernandez committed seven double faults, two more than his opponent.
At a high level, the match resulted in 60 winners, including 34 in favor of the Russian. It should also be noted that the latter lost only one point in 12 net attempts.
Their record against each other was 1-1, following games played last year.
Alexandrova will have either Lesia Tsurenko or Elsa Jacquemot as their next rival, a duel which will take place later on Tuesday.
British Columbian Rebecca Marino plays in the afternoon against Romanian Patricia Maria Țig.
On Monday, Quebec’s Félix Auger-Aliassime was beaten by Mackenzie MacDonald of the United States, while Ontario’s Milos Raonic lost to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, seventh in the world.
Fernandez is also on the women’s doubles roster with Taylor Townsend of the United States.
Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski teams up with New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe.
