Canada's Leylah Fernandez pulls off big upset over top-10 player
Leylah Fernandez is advancing to the quarterfinals at the Qatar Open.
The 21-year-old Canadian tennis player upset the No. 5 seed Qinwen Zheng on Wednesday to advance in the ongoing tournament.
It was a ferocious effort by Fernandez, who found herself down 5-3 in the first set before storming back to win 7-5. She would find success easier in the next set with a 6-3 victory to put the match away.
This shot from Leylah Fernandez šŖš¤¤pic.twitter.com/9fUfUwt5ro
— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) February 14, 2024
Zheng is not an easy opponent. She just recently made it to the finals of the 2024 Australian Open and is currently seventh in the Women’s Tennis Association world rankings.
Fernandez is currently 38th in those rankings but will surely move up after this tournament. She’s made it to two Grand Slam finals, including the 2021 US Open in the singles bracket and the 2023 French Open in doubles.
The Canadian will now take on the tournament No. 3 seed and the fourth-ranked player in the world, Elena Rybakina. The two players have never faced off before. It will be another tough test for Fernandez.
Some of the other strong players left in the tournament include Naomi Osaka and world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
The quarterfinal matchup will take place tomorrow at 5:45 am PT.
There is $3.2 million up for grabs in the Qatar Open. The further that Fernandez can advance, the larger share of that money she will get. Because she’s advanced to the quarterfinals, she’s guaranteed herself a payout of at least $72,965.
The winner of the entire singles bracket will take home $523,485.Ā Fernandez has earned a little over $4.5 million in career prize money thus far.
The 21-year-old tennis star is currently the highest-ranked Canadian woman. She has three career titles and a chance to add another one to her resume this week at the Qatar Open.
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