Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez started her clay court season on the wrong foot Thursday after losing 6-4, 6-4 to American Sloane Stephens in the second round of the women’s tennis tournament in Charleston, South Carolina.
Fernando, 14e top seed in the tournament, bowed after an hour and 45 minutes of play, losing her perfect 3-0 career record to Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion.
The 21-year-old from Laval was particularly messy on serve, posting a success rate with her first ball of only 62.1%, compared to 73.2% for the 31-year-old American.
Additionally, Fernandez, 34e world racket, committed six double faults, and she converted only one of her two break points against Stephens. On the other hand, she was very generous in this aspect of the game with the 40e player in the world, who broke three times in nine occasions.
Stephens, who is seeking an eighth career singles title on the WTA circuit, will face compatriot Danielle Collins in the third round. The latter eliminated the reigning tournament champion, Tunisian Ons Jabeur, in three sets of 6-3, 1-6 and 6-3.
Fernandez, who had a second-round bye, was scheduled to begin his tournament Wednesday evening, but his duel against Stephens was postponed due to rain.
Mother Nature therefore slowed down the progress of the day on Wednesday, and the first matches began around 5:30 p.m.
Furthermore, the favorite Jessica Pegula reached the quarter-finals.
Pegula, who made the semi-finals last year, easily defeated Magda Linette 6-2, 6-2. Pegula will now face the winner of the duel between the 12e seeded Victoria Azarenka and Taylor Townsend.
“I think I played intelligently on serve, and I handled the playing conditions well, which were hazardous,” Pegula said. And luckily I kept my composure, my aggression against the wind, and I was able to apply pressure. »
In other matches, seventh seed Elina Svitolina defeated Daria Saville 6-2, 6-4, while No. 11e Top seed Elise Mertens beat Varvara Gracheva 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
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