Leylah
Fernandez defeated
Bernarda Pera in the first round of the DC Open with a score
of 6-3, 7-5, setting up a match against Maria Sakkari.
The
Canadian player hasn't had a great 2023 season and has been far from the level
that took her to the final of the 2021 US Open and the quarterfinals of the
2022 French Open. Fernandez dropped out of the top 50 after an early exit from
Roland Garros in the second round.
This week,
she entered the main draw of the DC Open through the qualifying rounds,
defeating the second seed Varvara Gracheva and the sixth seed Katie Boulter
without dropping a set.
Bernarda
Pera, on the other hand, had some good results in the first part of the year,
including reaching the third round of the Australian Open and the fourth round
of the French Open, which helped her achieve her best ranking as world No. 27
two months ago. However, she experienced a drop in the rankings after a
disappointing grass-court season with a record of 1-3.
The
20-year-old Canadian secured the first break and took a 3-0 lead over Pera.
Although Fernandez lost her service game in the fifth game, she broke back and
maintained her lead to take the first set 6-3.
Despite
winning 83% of the points with her first serve, Fernandez faced some issues,
committing six double faults and only winning 29% of the points with her second
serve.
The second
set was a battle of breaks between the players, as neither of them held their
serve in the first seven games of the set, with three breaks for Pera and four
for Fernandez.
The former
US Open finalist defended her serve in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. Pera
managed to win her service game immediately after, and when Fernandez served to
take the set, the American broke back to level the match at 5-5.
Fernandez
kept her composure in the last two games, securing another break and then
defending her serve, even facing a break point against her, to close the match
7-5.
In total, the
match featured twelve breaks, seven for Leylah and five for Pera, and both
players were able to hold their serve on only nine occasions.
In next
round, Fernandez faces the challenge of taking on the fourth seed Maria
Sakkari, who had a bye and advanced directly to the second round.
