Hong Kong Open Round-Up: Leylah Fernandez red-hot again, as Cirstea survives veteran battle

Day Three is underway at the WTA 250 Hong Kong Open, with four of the eight quarter-finalists defined for the tournament. The match that stole the spotlight this day was the Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who returned to the quarter-finals in Hong Kong after defeating the German Eva Lys.

On the other hand, teenager Maya Joint secured a straightforward victory against qualifier Viktoria Morvayova, while Sorana Cîrstea emerged victorious from the duel of veterans against Ajla Tomljanovic.

The Canadian Leylah Fernandez (No. 22) secured a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Eva Lys (No. 44) and reached 9 wins in her last 10 appearances. The Canadian is defending 2024 semi-final points and maintains possibilities of finishing the year inside the top-20 if she wins the title.

The 2021 US Open runner-up started strong, and after only a few points played, went on a 10-game winning streak – taking a break and leading 3-0. Lys caught up in the following games with good service games – without facing break points – and took advantage of a single opportunity to recover the break. The German went from 1-4 to 4-4, but it was not enough, as Fernandez seized the momentum late and took the set 6-4.

In an even start to the second set – with both defending their first service game – Fernandez did not take long to take the lead and strung together five games in a row, closing the second set 6-1.

Maya Joint (No. 32) added another win in a match where she was the immense favorite against Viktoria Morvayova (No. 529), a Slovakian player making her main draw debut at a WTA tournament after successfully navigating qualifying. The Australian No. 1 won 71% of points with her first serve and converted 5/11 break opportunities throughout the match, against only two breaks for Morvayova.

Maya Joint has quietly earned a spot among the world's best through consistency. At just 19 years old, she has already reached World No. 32 in the live ranking – which makes her the third-highest ranked 'under-20' player, only behind Mirra Andreeva (No. 9) and Victoria Mboko (No. 20). The Australian has a 51-27 record this year, won titles in Rabat and Eastbourne, and is getting closer to the possibility of entering the next Australian Open as a seeded.

The 35-year-old Sorana Cîrstea (No. 45) took the duel between veterans against the 32-year-old Australian Ajla Tomljanovic (No. 86) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. The Romanian remains in great form, with 16 wins in her last 21 matches since returning to the hardcourts.

In an even first set, a late break by Tomljanovic in the 10th game gave her the advantage 6-4, while both maintained consistency on their serve until the middle of the second set. That's when the cross breaks came – with up to 5 consecutive – in which Cîrstea took a tense set 6-4. The decider in the third was simpler for the Romanian, who had a double break lead at 5-1. Tomljanovic fought to recover – and even saved four match points against her, but it wasn't enough to achieve the comeback.

Cîrstea will meet Leylah Fernandez in the quarter-finals less than two weeks after their last encounter. At the Osaka Open, the Canadian took the victory in a three-set match in the semi-finals – and subsequently ended up winning the title.