Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez advanced to the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open by surprising fifth seed, Chinese Qinwen Zheng, 7-5, 6-3.
Fernandez overcame a 5-3 deficit in the first set, before registering his third break of serve in four chances in the second set. She led until the end of the match, won in 92 minutes.
This is a first victory against a world top 10 opponent for Fernandez in 2024. Ranked 95e world last July, the Quebecer started the week at 38e rank.
Fernandez will face the winner of the duel between the top seedo 3, the Kazakh Elena Rybakina, and the American ranked 16th Emma Navarro.
The Canadian Press