(Indian Wells) Quebecer Leylah Fernandez lost 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 to Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in Indian Wells on Monday.
Fifth seed, Garcia has therefore earned his place in the round of 16, where Sorana Cirstea will be waiting for him.
Shortly after his 11e ace, Garcia sealed the win with a parallel forehand, which hit the line.
Ranked 49e at the WTA, Fernandez was the 30e seeded at the California tournament.
Garcia had three breaks, including two in the final inning, for cushions of 3-1 and 5-1. The Lavalloise let slip the two break points she obtained.
Prior to the break giving him a 3-1 lead, Garcia had won the third game to nil, on serve. She also shut out Fernandez twice in the first set, including a break.
Fernandez and Garcia had met only once, resulting in Garcia’s win earlier this year in Melbourne in the second round.
Last month and earlier in March, Garcia was beaten in the final in Lyon and Monterrey by Alycia Parks and Donna Vekic.
The world No.1 and defending champion, Iga Swiatek, qualified for the 8e finals of the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells, beating 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) the Canadian Bianca Andreescu (36e), Monday in California.
The 21-year-old Polish, looking for a double in the California desert that only Martina Navratilova achieved in 1991-1992, did not really have an easy game against the winner of the event in 2019, whom she had beaten for the first time, in the quarter-finals in Rome last year.
After winning the first set, where she imposed her sharp game in an authoritarian way, she broke from the start of the second and the prospect of a victory in steamroller mode took shape.
But suddenly, the mechanics suddenly jammed. Faced with resistance in Andreescu’s trade, Swiatek began to accumulate unforced errors. And his anger to rise, while his opponent chained four games in a row to lead 4-2.
Fulminating with her camp in the stands, the Polish, winner of Roland-Garros and the United States Open last year, finally pulled herself together by taking over the commitment of her rival twice in a row to serve for the match.
But a last rollercoaster awaited him since Andreescu still unbroken, dropping his shots. The decision was finally made in the decisive game, Swiatek regaining control of operations at the best time to avoid the pitfall of a third set.
“I’m happy to have had the opportunity to play a little more under pressure and to see how I was going to come out of it. And I am satisfied to have been solid most of the time and to have been able to keep my calm in the decisive game, ”she reacted hotly.
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, 10e headliner, defeated her doubles partner, Paula Badosa of Spain, in straight sets 6-3, 7-5.
Emma Raducanu, champion in New York two years ago, got the better of Beatriz Haddad Maia (noh 13) 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. Meanwhile, Tunisian Ons Jabeur (noh 4) was eliminated by Czech Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets 7-6 (5), 6-4.
On the men’s side, Quebec’s Félix Auger-Aliassime, seeded eighth, defeated Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-4.
He will face in the next round the American Tommy Paul, 17e first in the series. The latter was the winner of the Pole Hubert Hurkacz 4-6, 6-2 and 6-4.
PHOTO JAYNE KAMIN-ONCEA, USA TODAY SPORTS
Felix Auger-Aliassime
Defending tournament champion Taylor Fritz made short work of Sebastian Baez as he triumphed 6-1, 6-2 in the third round. The Swiss Stan Wawrinka has meanwhile defeated Holger Rune (noh 7) in three sets of 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Rune saved match point and overcame a 5-2 deficit to win the second set in a tiebreaker. Wawrinka, however, pulled himself together in the final round.
Favorite Carlos Alcaraz will also be in action on Monday, as will veteran Andy Murray.
With Agence France-Presse