LEYLAH INTO RD 2! 🇨🇦Leylah Fernandez defeats 🇺🇸Asia Mohammed in straight sets 6-1 6-3 as Leylah and Genie both win their opening round matches today. Kudermetova for Genie and & Leylah vs 🇧🇪(13)Mertens in RD2. #CdnTennis #GDLOpenAKRON
Leylah Fernandez shines bright in Guadalajara: powers past Asia Muhammad into second round
WTAMonday, 18 September 2023 at 03:17
Leylah
Fernandez made her debut at the Guadalajara Open with a victory, defeating Asia
Muhammad 6-1, 6-3.
Former US
Open finalist returned to the winner's circle after two consecutive first-round
defeats at the US Open and San Diego. The Canadian feels comfortable in Mexico,
where she has won the Monterrey Open title twice (2021, 2022) and reached the
final in the 2020 Acapulco tournament.
However,
world No. 74 Leylah Fernandez didn't manage to secure victories in the previous
edition of Guadalajara, as she was eliminated in the first round by Belinda
Bencic. But this time, the story was different. Her opponent was the American
world No. 351 Asia Muhammad, who came through the tournament's qualifying
rounds.
From the
first set, the Canadian displayed her expertise on the Mexican hardcourts. With
the score at 1-1, Fernandez won five consecutive games, including two breaks,
to take the set 6-1 in just 31 minutes.
Muhammad
had significant issues with her service, with only a 33% first-serve
percentage, winning 71% of those points, and 36% with her second serve. These
figures were far from Leylah's 70% first-serve rate, winning 88% of those
points, and 43% with her second serve.
The second
set saw the American stronger with her serve, but she made errors in the third
game that gave Fernandez an advantage. Both held their serves without facing
break points until 5-3, where the Canadian capitalized on the pressure on
Muhammad and secured the break.
Read also
The final
score was 6-1, 6-3 in one hour and six minutes, with Fernandez showcasing an
impressive serve and displaying good resilience in the rallies.
In the
second round, she will face the 13th seed Elise Mertens, who defeated Yanina
Wickmayer in the first round with a score of 7-6(2), 6-2. This will be the
second encounter between the Belgian and Fernandez, with Mertens having won
their only previous meeting in the first round of the 2021 Australian Open
(6-1, 6-3).
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- I go for Sinner
AceOfBase14-11-2024 - Kudos to the journalist here for putting Krejcikova's statement first, making it more important than all the shiiite uttered by Wertheim.MrAndreeva11-11-2024
- Daring prediction from Mats :-)AceOfBase10-11-2024
- Zheng v Gauff the best final we could get. Both were and remain in top form the last few weeks. Queenwen even the whole year almost. If she finds her aces she's a contender. If not, Gauff's gonna take it.MrAndreeva08-11-2024
- Let's go easy on Dasha. But Barbora did well reaching the semifinals.MrAndreeva08-11-2024
