Leylah Fernandez – Wimbledon
Leylah Annie Fernandez produced a dominant display on the grass courts in Eastbourne, racing past Harriet Dart 6-2, 6-1 in 68 minutes to advance to the semifinals of the Rothesay International.
The Canadian struck 15 winners and won 71% of her service points in a clinical performance, overwhelming her British opponent.
Fernandez, a recent guest on Match Point Canada, imposed her aggressive game in on the grass, taking away time and space from Dart on the quick surface.
However, in the opening set, it was the 27-year-old Brit who broke serve in the opening game of the match.
That brief lead did little to deter the Canadian, who responded with strong baseline pressure.
After recovering to get back on serve, a clean strike from the backhand wing secured a second break as Fernandez moved ahead 4-2.
Confidently dictating play from the back of the court, the 21-year-old would close out the set with a third break of serve, rushing Dart with deep returns.
Fernandez would capture 30 of 50 points to seize the first set 6-2 in 36 minutes.
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The momentum firmly stayed on the Canadian’s side to begin the second.
Fernandez opened with a hold of serve, and broke the Brit for the fourth time in the match as she built a 3-0 lead against the crowd favourite.
Leading 4-1, she further applied pressure, keeping Dart off balance with her deep, precise returns.
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She converted a second break point to gain an insurmountable 5-1 lead, before closing the proceedings out on serve.
The former 2021 US Open finalist would lose only three points total on her serve in the dominant 32-minute second set.
It’s the first semifinal of the season for the 21-year-old, who’s now 5-1 in her grass-court campaign.
Fernandez has enjoyed a strong run on the grass at Eastbourne so far, also notching a three-set victory over former French Open champion, Barbora Krejcikova.
She also evens her head-to-head with Dart, who’d previously defeated her in their only matchup in 2021 at the National Bank Open in Montreal.
Fernandez will face American Madison Keys next.
