Leylah Fernandez avoids disaster against Pavlyuchenkova in Rome, comes back to win in 3

Leylah Fernandez toyed with her fans in Rome by losing the opening set but she came back to win it in three 1-6 6-2 6-2.

In a match that featured a typical WTA score, Leylah Fernandez proved much better than Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova down the stretch winning the 2nd and 3rd sets with ease. The Russian is coming off a long layoff due to injury and her first match back have been shaky as expected. Both in Madrid and now in Rome Anastasia was beaten in 3 sets by very good players.

It's not ideal but it's encouraging for the French Open finalist from last year as she tries to build up form for the event. She defends a lot of points and she will need a strong showing in order to retain some of them. Fernandez doesn't play well on clay but she's improving and this win is proof. She lost the opening set 1-6 unable to do anything right.

Then she finally found her rhythm and things changed. In the 2nd set Fernandez easily outplayed her opponent as the forehand was doing a lot of damage. Pavlyuchenkova was losing wind as the match went on and it was particularly evident in the final set where Fernandez simply ran away with it. A strong start for Leylah who needs more matches on clay to get comfortable.