Fernandez easy past Shnaider, storms into Cincinnati Open Quarter-Finals

Leylah Fernandez (No. 27) bounced back to defeat Diana Shnaider (No. 20) and reach the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open with a score of 6-1, 6-4. The Canadian continues to perform strongly and returns to the quarter-finals of a WTA 1000 event.

This will be Fernandez's third appearance at this stage, although she fell short in her previous two attempts at the 2023 Guadalajara Open and the 2024 Qatar Open. The Canadian also breaks into the top 25 in the live rankings

The first set was completely in favour of Fernandez. The 2021 US Open champion came out highly focused, especially from the return game, as she won 56% of the points on return. The Russian not only had a low first serve percentage (52%), but also failed to capitalise, winning less than 50% of points on both her first and second serves.

In this way, Leylah managed two consecutive breaks in Shnaider's initial service games and was already 5-0 up in just over 20 minutes. Shnaider managed to hold her serve for the first time and despite having some break points later on, Fernandez comfortably took the set 6-1.

In the second set, Shnaider was more competitive than in the first part. The Russian secured the first break and was 4-1 up. However, she was unable to maintain the lead. Fernandez responded and regained control of the match, earning two consecutive breaks and winning a total of four games in a row to close out the win in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.

The Canadian will head into her next match with confidence after a strong week in Cincinnati. Fernandez had already secured victories over Yue Yuan (No. 40) and Elena Rybakina (No. 4). Her next opponent will be the winner of the American match between Taylor Townsend (No. 53) and Jessica Pegula (No. 6).