Photo: ITF/Paul Zimmer
Leylah Annie Fernandez broke new ground for Canada at the Summer Olympics on Monday, becoming the first Canadian woman ever to reach the last sixteen in singles at the tennis event by defeating Cristina Busca of Spain in straight sets.
Bianca Andreescu will not be joining her in the last sixteen, though, as she was eliminated by Wimbledon semifinalist Donna Vekic in straight sets.
It was a tricky battle for the Canadian No. 1, who had her hands full with the pesky Spaniard. But at the business end of both sets, it was Fernandez holding her nerve to claim a 7-6(4), 6-3 win.
Serve was anything but sacred in the match, as both women won less than half the points on their own serve and were broken at least five times each. Fernandez was still the stronger on return, creating 14 break points and converting seven.
The opening set was a series of momentum swings. It seemed like Busca was getting off to the stronger start when she broke Fernandez in the opening game, only for the Canadian to respond with four straight games of her own to get back on serve and then go up a break.
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Her lead was short-lived as Busca managed to claw back the break and level the set at 4-4. Then a sloppy game at 5-5 from Fernandez set up the Spaniard to serve for the set, but again the momentum flipped and the Canadian was able to break to send the set to a tiebreak.
Hot off the critical break in the 12th game, Fernandez kept rolling into the breaker where she quickly raced ahead 4-0. While Busca started to cut into the lead, she never managed to reel the Canadian back in as Fernandez hung on to take the opening set.
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In the second, it was Fernandez scoring the first break, moving ahead 2-1. After Busca held in the opening game, she was broken by the Canadian four consecutive times.
A strong return game was key for Fernandez as she still struggled to find a rhythm on serve and was broken back twice, including when she served for the match at 5-2. But she had a clean read on her opponent’s serve and was able to break to book her spot in the third round.
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In order to reach the quarter-finals, Fernandez will have to beat three-time major champion Angelique Kerber. If she reaches the last eight, she will be the first Canadian, male or female, to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympics since 1908.
More Struggles for Andreescu
In round one, Bianca Andreescu showed encouraging signs that she was finding her highest gear as she cruised past Clara Tauson. But on Monday, Donna Vekic of Croatia proved too much of a challenge for the former US Open champion, eliminating the Canadian in straight sets.
Like the Fernandez match, there were breaks of serve aplenty and openings existed for the Canadian, but she struggled to hold her serve throughout the match and was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by the Wimbledon semifinalist.
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Overall, 11 of the 19 games in the match were breaks, with the Croatian converting seven of her 13 break point chances, while Andreescu was four of 10. The Canadian did not do herself many favours, committing 29 unforced errors to her opponent’s 16.
Andreescu came out of the blocks quicker, breaking Vekic in the fourth game. However, she was unable to consolidate as the Croat broke back immediately.
The momentum completely flipped with that break as the Wimbledon semifinalist quickly seized control of the opening set. Having trailed 1-3, Vekic won five games in a row, breaking the Canadian three times including in the ninth game to seal the opening set.
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Things went from bad to worse for Andreescu early in the second set as, in the second game, she took a fall and appeared to injure her hand. She was able to continue after a medical timeout but was swiftly broken to go down 0-2.
Despite the fall, Andreescu remained competitive in the second set, immediately breaking back. However, both women were picking apart the other’s serve. Of the 10 games in the second set, seven were breaks, including a run of four straight starting with Vekic’s break in the second game.
Andreescu had a chance to truly get back in the match when she broke for a 4-3 lead, but that was as close as she would get. Vekic broke back immediately and then broke again to seal the win.
