MONTREAL — Canada’s Leylah Fernandez cruised to a 6-3 6-2 victory over American qualifier Peyton Stearns in first-round action at the National Bank Open on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old from Laval, Que., barely left the result in doubt, taking control from the beginning and winning the match in 76 minutes in front of a partisan Centre Court crowd that steadily grew throughout the afternoon at IGA Stadium.
It was Fernandez’s first match in front of her hometown crowd since becoming a Grand Slam finalist at the 2021 U.S. Open.
Fernandez, who hit five aces in the match and held serve all but once, started off strong, going on the offensive and breaking Stearn’s serve twice en route to taking the opening set.
The Canadian carried that momentum and her aggressive play into the second, going up two breaks for an early 4-0 lead.
Up 5-1, Fernandez nearly broke Stearns a fifth time, hitting multiple impressive winners to earn a match-point opportunity and light up the crowd. Stearns, however, fended off the point and took the game
Fernandez then served to win the match in the ensuing game.
Last time out at the National Bank Open in Montreal in 2021, Fernadez lost in the opening round with the number of fans limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fernandez reached a career-high No. 13 ranking exactly one year ago Tuesday. Now she’s 81st and looking to climb back up.
“My ranking has dropped which is very, very unfortunate,” said Fernandez in her pre-tournament media availability. “But I think my game has been improving. The results aren’t there, but every training session we’re working hard we’re trying to improve as much as possible.”
She’ll face the winner of Tuesday’s match between Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil and Magdalena Frech of Poland in the next round.
Earlier Tuesday, Caroline Wozniacki made a triumphant return to tennis, defeating Kimberly Birrell in straight sets.
Wozniacki dominated from the start, securing a 6-2, 6-2 victory while pushing her Australian opponent across the court during rallies. The Dane will face the winner of Tuesday’s match between Marketa Vondrousova and Mayar Sharif.
The former World No. 1 and 2018 Australian Open champion received a wild-card entry into the National Bank Open main draw after retiring in 2020 to start a family.
American qualifier Danielle Collins needed just 72 minutes to eliminate Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in two sets, 6-2, 6-2 in an earlier match.
Collins, who defeated Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard on Saturday, will next face eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece.
Later Tuesday, Bianca Andreescu, of Mississauga, Ont., was scheduled to meet Italy’s Camilla Giorgi in a battle of two former National Bank Open champions.
