Canadian tennis star Leylah Fernandez was all happy after winning her first post-injury match as she was glad that she was able to start her Toronto campaign with a victory. Fernandez, who sustained a Grade 3 stress fracture at the US Open, made her return on Monday when she defeated qualifier Storm Sanders 6-4 6-7 (2) 6-3 in the Toronto first round.
After breaking Sanders in the 10th game to win the first set, Fernandez had a chance to close out the match in the same way. But Sanders saved two match points in the 10th game of the second set, before dominating the tie-break to force a decider.
In the third set, Fernandez broke Sanders twice to earn a three-set win. “It was definitely one tough match,” Fernandez said, per the WTA website. “It had everything. It had great moments, bad moments, it had spectacular moments from both players.
I was just super happy that I was able to play in front of my home crowd. And also that at the end of the match my body feels amazing. So that’s a huge positive. That’s the biggest win that I can ask for.”
Fernandez grateful to the Toronto crowd for the support
Fernandez, the 2021 US Open runner-up, is the biggest name in Canadian women’s tennis.
“Here in Toronto it’s just like playing in front of my family, playing in front of the Canadian crowd, playing in front of all the people who have helped me, who have cheered me on throughout the years,” Fernandez said.
“So it’s like a great way for me to say thank you to them by showing that all the years that not only I suffer, but they suffer too has paid off and hopefully that this can keep going.” In the Toronto second round, Fernandez faces Beatriz Haddad Maia.
