Leylah Fernandez did as she often does in team tournaments and led from the front as Canada opened up with victory in the 2025 United Cup on Saturday defeating Croatia including a superb win over Olympic silver medalist, Donna Vekic.
She handed Vekic her first ever loss in United Cup singles with a 6-4, 6-3 opening win in Perth. Albeit as is often the case with team tournaments, that work can soon be undone if the other players don't follow. That was the case as Felix Auger-Aliassime was beaten by an inspired by Borna Coric.
But in the end, Fernandez and Auger-Aliassime came together to beat Ivan Dodig and Lucija Cicic Bagaric 6-3, 6-4 to give Canada a 1-0 lead in Group A. They will be back on court on Sunday when they face USA.
Fernandez is currently Canada's leading light and is well known for defeating top 20 players. Six of her 10 career wins over these players ranked in this position came last season. She needed 1 hour and 26 minutes to dismantle Vekic who is coming off the best season of her life.
Neither faced a break point in the first nine games of the tie before Fernandez carved open a late opportunity. A double fault from the Croat opened the door and the Canadian came steaming in. She was handed three chances for the set, albeit she needed four.
Vekic failed to convert game point herself and Fernandez went on to seal the set. While Vekic double faulted again in the second while she was serving for the eighth game of set two. Following the double fault, Fernandez pounced on errors on the backhand side to break and sealed a love hold for the win from there.
"I'm super happy with the way that I played, the way that I stayed consistent in the tough moments," Fernandez said on-court post-match. "Donna, she's an incredible player and incredible fighter, and I knew she wasn't going to give it to me, especially at the start of the second set. I'm just happy that I stayed mentally strong."
Sealing the deal 🤝
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) December 28, 2024
Fernandez secures the first singles win for Team Canada 🇨🇦#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/rfBvQcGZM4
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