Peyton
Stearns secured her spot in the quarterfinals by defeating
Leylah Fernandez at
the WTA 250 Marrakech with a score of 6-3, 2-6.
The
Canadian made her debut at the WTA Marrakech with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over
Spanish player Angela Fita Boluda, who entered as a lucky loser after Sara
Sorribes Tormo's withdrawal. Sorribes had eliminated Fernandez in the
semifinals of the ITF Spain 17A just a week ago.
American
player Peyton Stearns entered the match against the US Open 2021 finalist after
a good run of victories in her recent appearances, reaching the finals of the
Bogota Open and the ITF USA 13A. The 21-year-old athlete's good results allowed
her to break into the top 70 for the first time in her career, and in the
upcoming weeks, she doesn't have any points to defend. This means that if she
maintains good results, she could continue to climb in the rankings.
World No.
51 Leylah Fernandez fought hard in the tight first set against Stearns, but the
American was more effective when it came to converting break point
opportunities, taking advantage of two out of the three chances Fernandez gave
her. In the second set, Leylah quickly took the lead and didn't give her
opponent any openings, as Stearns' first serve percentage dropped, and she
became more erratic.
However,
Stearns didn't falter in the decisive set and quickly took a 4-0 lead. Although
Fernandez made a small comeback when she closed the gap to 4-2 with the serve
in her favor, the American remained steady and won the match with a score of
6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
In the
quarterfinals, Stearns will face fellow American Sloane Stephens, who has
defeated Vera Zvonareva and Timea Babos without dropping a set so far.
