Miami Open | Leylah Fernandez advances to second round

(Miami) Quebec’s Leylah Fernandez reached the second round at the Miami Open on Wednesday, winning 6-4, 6-3 over Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.

Fernandez erased a 4-0 deficit in the first set and 2-0 in the second.

She won in an hour and 28 minutes, thanks in particular to a 6-4 advantage for breaks and 3-0 for aces.

The win was sealed with a cross shot on his second match point. Fernandez is 53^e at the WTA, Tsurenko 81^e.

The Lavalloise will have as next rival Belinda Bencic, ninth seed.

Fernandez and Bencic split the honors of four matchups.

One of Fernandez’s victories came at Roland-Garros last year, in the third round.

Earlier Wednesday, Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu won a duel of former Flushing Meadows champions Emma Raducanu 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Andreescu improved to 2-0 against Raducanu. She made seven aces, against two for the Briton. Andreescu won 67.2% of his first serve points.

The Canadian, who won the US Open in 2019, faced 12 break points and saved 11. Andreescu broke her opponent’s serve three times in 11 attempts.

“You never know what to expect,” Andreescu said on the field after the game. I wanted above all to try to offer my best tennis, and I believe that I succeeded. Emma was brilliant. She is an incredible player and I have a lot of respect for her. »

Raducanu, who came to Miami as 72^e world racket, won the US Open in 2021, beating Fernandez in the final.

Andreescu, 31^e in the world, improved to 7-6 this season and will be looking to advance to the second round of a tournament for only the second time this year.

She will face the Greek Maria Sakkari, seeded seventh. Andreescu had beaten Sakkari in the semi-finals of this same tournament in 2021 before retiring in the final, against Ashleigh Barty.

Sakkari won the second encounter between the two players, later that same year, in the fourth round of the United States Open.

Canadians Rebecca Marino and Katherine Sebov have already earned their place in the second round of women’s singles. They will be in action on Thursday afternoon.