TOKYO — Leylah Fernandez from Canada faced a tough challenge in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, falling to Kazakhstan’s second-seeded Elena Rybakina on Thursday.
With this victory, Rybakina progressed to the quarterfinals where she will meet the promising Canadian teen, Victoria Mboko. Mboko previously saved a match point to defeat Rybakina in the semifinals of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers held in Montreal.
The 19-year-old talent from Toronto emerged victorious in that tournament as a wild-card participant.
In this match, Fernandez, hailing from Laval, Quebec, was bested by the world No. 7, Rybakina, with a score of 6-4, 6-3.
Rybakina wrapped up the match in just an hour and 28 minutes, maintaining her lead throughout and losing serve only once.
At 23 years old, Fernandez recently claimed her fifth career singles title at the Japan Open in Osaka just last Sunday.
In women’s doubles, Mboko and Bianca Andreescu from Mississauga, Ontario, experienced a nail-biting loss, falling in three sets to Christina Bucsa of Spain and Shuko Aoyama of Japan during their quarterfinal match.
The Canadians lost a hard-fought battle with scores of 6-4, 7-6 (3), 10-8.
