Canadian tennis star Leylah Fernandez may have seen her Australian Open preparations take a hit, as she was upset by Belgian Ysaline Bonaventure in their quarterfinal clash at the ASB Classic.
Bonaventure looked to be the more consistent of both competitors, as she maintained her composure in the 6-4 6-2 victory. Fernandez, who has looked out of sorts after returning from a lengthy injury layoff last season, was unable to do much damage from the baseline. Both ladies exchanged breaks early in the match, before some errant play from the 2021 US Open runner-up saw her surrender the first set after she was broken a second time.
The third seed was never able to recover from the setback, as her serve failed her in the second second. Behind four double faults and winning only a third of points on her second serve, Fernandez suffered two breaks of serve. This was sufficient for Bonaventure to close out the match behind some consistent play, sealing her victory after 69 minutes.
The World No.95 advances to her maiden WTA singles semifinal, where she'll face the winner between Karolina Muchova and Spanish qualifier Rebeka Masarova.