NEW YORK — In an exhilarating showdown, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez came back from a set down to conquer France’s Elsa Jacquemot with a score of 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 during the women’s singles second round on Wednesday night at the US Open.
Seeded 31st in the tournament and the 2021 runner-up, Fernandez struggled initially, securing just one service game in the first set and winning a mere 42 percent of her first-serve points.
The 22-year-old from Laval, Quebec, found her groove in the subsequent sets, holding serve throughout while breaking Jacquemot’s serve three times, wrapping up the match in a swift two hours and 16 minutes.
Fernandez had an impressive opening round, easily defeating Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino 6-2, 6-1.
Next up, she is set to face world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round on Friday. Sabalenka advanced by defeating Polina Kudermetova with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-2 later in the day.
In their last encounter, Fernandez stunned Sabalenka in three sets, earning her a place in the 2021 US Open final.
Furthermore, Fernandez is also competing in the women’s doubles alongside tennis icon Venus Williams.
The 45-year-old Williams, a celebrated champion with seven Grand Slam singles titles and 14 major doubles titles to her name, entered the tournament as a wildcard alongside Fernandez.
The duo will take on the sixth-seeded pairing of Lyudmyla Kichenok from Ukraine and Ellen Perez from Australia in their first round match on Thursday.
This marks Williams’ first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament in two years, following her return to professional tennis in July after a 16-month hiatus.
Williams faced a tough match, losing in three sets to 11th-seeded Karolina Muchova in the women’s singles first round.
On Thursday, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski, alongside her partner Erin Routliffe from New Zealand — the third seeds in women’s doubles — are set to face the Czech duo of Marketa Vondrousova and Miriam Skoch.
In men’s singles action, Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ont., and Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo will also be vying for victory in their second-round matches.
The 27th-seeded Shapovalov is taking on France’s Valentin Royer, Auger-Aliassime — seeded 25th — will face Russia’s Roman Safiullin, and the 31st-seeded Diallo is set to meet Spain’s Jaume Munar.
