Sep 3, 2020
Fernandez falls to Kenin at US Open
Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez lost 6-4, 6-3 to No. 2 seed Sofia Kenin of the United States in a second-round match at the U.S. Open on Thursday.
The Canadian Press
NEW YORK — Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez lost 6-4, 6-3 to No. 2 seed Sofia Kenin of the United States in a second-round women's match.
A 17-year-old left-hander from Laval, Que., Fernandez was disappointed with her performance against the world No. 4 and the 2020 Australian Open champ.
"She's top five for a reason," Fernandez said. "She puts a lot of balls back in and she played a great match today, but honestly I didn't play well. I made too many mistakes.
"Not to take anything away from Sofia, she played really well. But at most today, I must have played maybe a two out of 10 and that's me being kind to myself."
Fernandez was coming off her first career Grand Slam main-draw victory as she beat world No. 178 Vera Zvonareva of Russia in straight sets on Tuesday.
Kenin provided much tougher opposition as the two squared off at Arthur Ashe Stadium — the biggest court on the U.S. Open grounds.
Fernandez, ranked 104th, didn't look overwhelmed by the moment.
After losing her serve in the third game of the first set, Fernandez held serve the rest of the set. With Kenin serving for the set, Fernandez got it to 30-30 before the powerful American unleashed two winners.
Kenin then took charge in the second set, breaking Fernandez to take a 2-1 lead before finishing off the Canadian with another service break.
Kenin dominated on Fernandez's second serve. The Canadian won only 29 per cent of points on her second serve.
Fernandez also made seven more unforced errors than Kenin (25-18), and the American had a small edge in winners (19-17).
Playing at Ashe was special for Fernandez.
"It was a great feeling, I'm not going to lie," she said. "It's nice to be playing in that historic stadium. I've been seeing so many great players play there on TV. I set my mind on I want to be playing there one day. It was a great sensation. Hopefully, I'll have many more matches on that court."
This is the first full year on the women's circuit for Fernandez, who turns 18 on Sunday. She won the French Open girls title last year.
Toronto's Sharon Fichman and Croatian partner Darija Jurak lost 6-2, 7-6 (6) to No. 4 seeds Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands in a first-round women's doubles match Thursday.
Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and American partner Alison Riske beat Russians Natela Dzalamidze and Irina Khromacheva 6-3, 6-2 in another women's doubles first-round match.
Shapovalov and his partner Rohan Bopanna of India led 6-3, 3-2 over Americans Ernesto Escobedo and Noah Rubin before play was suspended in a first-round men's doubles match Thursday.
Shapovalov, seeded 12th in men's singles, will play his third-round match against No. 19 seed Taylor Fritz of the U.S. on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2020.