Leylah Fernandez needed a lot more time than expected to win her first-round match at the Australian Open, a match that, on paper, looked to her advantage. But in the Quebecer’s defense, it’s not really because of her performance on the court.
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The rain spoiled this festive day for tennis fans, and at the same time, the working day of many players on the big draw in Melbourne. So much so that Leylah, 30e seeded in Australia, finally completed a match that started at 7 p.m. in the middle of the night from Saturday to Sunday (Quebec time).
In fact, between the first point of the match and the moment when Fernandez was able to savor his qualification for the second round, nine hours had passed!
The native of Laval did not always help herself by letting the Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva (100th on the WTA) come from behind on a few occasions, but she finally won 7-5 and 6-4, in 2 hours 11 minutes of play.
“Oh my God! It was a long, long day. I don’t know how you manage to still be here!” Leylah said to the fans still in the stands at Kia Arena during her post-match interview.
The Quebecer will now face
More details to come.
