Leylah Fernandez was eliminated in the second round of the National Bank Open on Thursday. The 21-year-old Quebecer was upset 6-4, 6-2 by American Ashlyn Krueger, who came through qualifying.
Fernandez, who was the 15e The top seed in the competition, was the last Canadian in singles, including the men’s tournament in Montreal.
The 25e The world number one player had a chance to break Krueger when she trailed 5-4 in the first set, but was unable to complete the job while leading 40-0.
“It was a fun atmosphere,” Krueger said of the partisan crowd. “I turned it around and pretended everyone was cheering for me.”
Krueger, 82e world’s best racket, broke Fernandez early in the second set and led 3-1 then 4-2 thanks to good service.
The 20-year-old American again broke the Montrealer, who then showed signs of frustration, to make it 5-2 before finishing the job on serve.
“These courts really help my serve,” said Kruger, who lost his only other match against Fernandez on grass. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities to get ahead because they’re faster… It definitely helps my game.”
Ontario’s 19-year-old Marina Stakusic was also in the second round, but she lost 6-0, 6-2 to American Taylor Townsend earlier in the day.
Toronto tournament director Karl Hale remains in good spirits despite the Canadian disaster.
“That’s the beauty of having a lot of depth,” he said, making sure to mention that Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski was still in action in doubles. “It’s the best show in women’s sports. That’s the WTA Tour, you never know what’s going to happen.”
In the other matches of the day, the tournament favourite, the American Coco Gauff, easily won 6-4, 6-2.
The 20-year-old, who won the U.S. Open last year, was returning from the Paris Olympics, where she played on clay after her grass season. Thursday was her first hard-court match in several weeks.
“It’s not easy to change surfaces so often in such a short period of time,” Gauff said after her victory. “I’m happy to have won this match.”
Sixth seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia defeated Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 6-2.