National Bank Open 2023: Canada's Fernandez moves on, Andreescu eliminated in 1st round

Leylah Fernandez registered Canada's first win in the women's draw of the National Bank Open on Montreal, beating American Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-2 on centre court on Tuesday.

"It feels amazing, I'm super happy to get my first win here in Montreal," Fernandez told reporters following the win. "I thought I played a solid match. I'm glad the crowd enjoyed the match, that was the most important thing for me, and obviously getting the win meant the world."

Fernandez showed excellent poise all afternoon, controlling the flow of play for the majority of the match. The 20-year-old was especially deadly with her backhand, often beating her opponent with well-placed returns and winners down the line.

"I'm happy that I was able to get in a zone and just focus on the ball," she said. "The result came, and I was just happy that I was able to do what I practiced and executed the game plan."

Despite double faulting five times, Fernandez was by far more impactful with her serve than Stearns, registering five aces to Stearns' zero. The Canadian also converted 44.4% of her break points as Stearns struggled to win her service games.

Fernandez will now face Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in the Round of 32.

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Bianca Andreescu was not as fortunate as her Canadian counterpart, however, losing 6-3, 6-2 to Italian Camila Giorgi on Tuesday night.

The pair traded games to open the first set before Giorgi began to pull away. Andreescu had an opportunity to swing the momentum in her favour while up a couple break points down 2-4, but squandered the advantage as her opponent took the game and, eventually, the set.

"She hits the ball very hard, and she acts like she's the boss on the court," Andreescu said post-match. "She was the boss on the court tonight, not me, sadly."

Giorgi was especially effective with her service game, winning 70.2% of the total service points, and converting on 60.7% of her second serve points. The 31-year-old was resilient in defending her serve as well, saving all five of the break points she faced throughout the match. Andreescu registered three aces, but also double faulted on three occasions.

Giorgi, who won this event in Montreal in 2021, will face seventh seed Petra Kvitova in the second round.