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.
🇨🇦Leylah Fernandez out in the 2nd RD of the #RabatOpen in Morocco to 🇺🇸Stearns 36 62 26! Leylah has to find a better and CONSISTENT level of play with RG next week. She got broken a total of SIX times. Only once in the set she won. Serving is her weakness right now. #CdnTennis
