Leila Annie Fernandez falls in the second round at Roland Garros

It should be noted that Fernandez’s volatility throughout the meeting of just over two and a half hours is the element that will shorten his stay in Paris.

The match started poorly for Fernandez who quickly found herself trailing 0-4 after two service interruptions from Towson, mainly due to her nine unforced errors.

Quebec raised its head to knock out its opponent twice and come back to 3-4. However, Fernandez seemed to be playing with fragile confidence.

Still reluctant to serve, Fernandez watched as Towson bagged the first set two games later, when we were playing for 51 minutes.

Useful break

Before the start of the second set, Fernandez received treatment, where the therapist focused on the lower back of the player lying face down.

If the intervention seemed to work for him, the effect was short-lived. Leading 2-0, Fernandez quickly lost his touch after another break to put Towson back on track at 2-2.

After saving another break point, Fernandez pulled herself together to go ahead 3-2. In the next minutes, she scored her first three aces of the match before signing off on the fourth game and forcing a deciding set.

But, once again, Fernandez opened the door for her opponent by dropping serve in the third game, a gap she was unable to fill despite persistent efforts and the longest rally of the match.

Admittedly, his six double faults and 37 unforced errors hurt Fernandez, but not so much as not having a bite on his second balls of serve against which Towson scored 43 points out of a possible 99.

At a press conference, the 20-year-old looked shaken. In an interview with Radio Canada, she admitted that this defeat was particularly painful to swallow.

Fernandez explained that it was a day that affected me a little more, but all the defeats were very difficult. Today it was a little difficult to control my feelings. Normally, I control my negative emotions a bit more and stay calm, especially during press conferences. But it’s good, it means I love sports and I hate losing.

Quebec were a quarter-finalist in the same tournament last year and losing to Towson in the second round will cost them valuable points in the standings. However, Fernandez claims that he did not think much about this aspect, but his start to the season, far below his expectations, is affecting him more.

” I’m not satisfied with my season, at all. I have a lot of expectations, I want to go far in the important tournaments because I know I have the level, but unfortunately I find it difficult to pass the important matches in the first two rounds. But this is life. I will go home and talk to my coaches and see what I can change and what I need to change personally to achieve my dreams and goals. »

Garcia and Ostapenko surprised Blinkova and Stearns

Caroline Garcia, world number five and France’s best chance in the last two weeks, was eliminated in the second round by Anna Blinkova (56th) in three sets of 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. The Russian needed nine match points to conclude.

Reaching the top five thanks to the second half of the season in 2022, including a title in Cincinnati, a semi-final at the US Open — her first at a Grand Slam tournament — Garcia, 29, has been struggling to live up to her new status since the beginning of the year. This defeat confirms his stagnation.

Peyton Stearns scored the most important victory of her career. She defeated former champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 1-6 6-2 to reach the third round.

Stearns, a former University of Texas player, turned pro in June 2022.

Peyton Stearns

Photo: USA Today Sports via Reuters Con/Suzanne Mullan

The Latvian won Roland Garros in 2017, but has not been able to go beyond the third round since then. The 17th seed has been broken five times, not counting 28 unforced errors.

The 21-year-old American continues her climb in the world rankings and debuted in Paris at 69th, after a good run on clay.

Third seed Jessica Pegula also continued her journey after taking advantage of Camila Giorgi’s abandonment of her injury. The American was leading 6-2 when the Italian threw in the towel.

Then, hours after her husband Gael Moonfils won in five sets on Tuesday night, Elina Svitolina came from behind to beat qualifier Storm Hunter 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.

For her part, Belarusian Arina Sabalenka, the second in the world and favorite for the title, took another step by defeating her compatriot Irina Shimanovich (214) 7-5, 6-2 in the second round without playing her best tennis.

I’m not very happy with my game today. I have work to do tomorrow to be better prepared for today’s gamesaid the 25-year-old.

Winner of her first major tournament in January in Australia, Sabalenka will face Russia’s Kamila Rakimova (82) in the third round.

After an uneventful match against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the first round, Sabalenka was even less uneventful against her compatriot. She was noticeably hooked in the first set, failing to confirm her break in the middle of the set, before resuming to serve her opponent in the final.

On the other hand, the second round was one-sided, and Sabalenka was greeted warmly at the end of the meeting.

In doubles, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and her Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani successfully entered the race in Paris.

The eighth-seeded duo defeated Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto and German Tatiana Maria in two identical sets, 6-2. Dabrowski and Stephanie will regain the collar again on Friday in the second round.

With information from Alexandre Gascon