Canadian teen Leylah Annie Fernandez's French Open debut ends in 3rd round
2-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova defeats 18-year-old in straight sets
Leylah Annie Fernandez's run at the French Open is over, ending Canadian hopes in the singles draws.
The 18-year-old from Laval, Que., lost to No. 7 seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-3 in the third round on Saturday in Paris. Fernandez, ranked 100th in the world, was the last Canadian singles player left.
Despite holding a sizeable lead on Kvitova in the early stages of the match, Fernandez says she was "very disappointed" on the outcome of the match.
"Today I just made too many mistakes when I was up and gave her momentum going back in," Fernandez said. "Things happened and I just didn't follow my coach's game plan they gave me at the beginning of the match. Too many mistakes here and there at key moments."
Fernandez took a 5-1 lead on the two-time Wimbledon champion in the first set, but Kvitova rallied to win 7-5.
WATCH | Leylah Fernandez ousted in 3rd round of French Open debut:
Kvitova then won the first three games of the second set and held the lead the rest of the way.
"Petra is a great competitor," Fernandez said. "She told me congratulations and good luck for the future, which was very nice of her. I've admired her since I was very young. To be playing against her...was a big opportunity for me and unfortunately I didn't execute what I needed to do."
Fernandez's run to the third round was her best showing at a Grand Slam.
She reached the second round of this year's U.S. Open and lost in the opening round of this year's Australian Open.
"I've been improving every Grand Slam. I've won one round extra than the last one, which is good. I know what I need to work on. There's obviously a lot of things I've got to work on today for the future." Fernandez said.
Last year, she won the girls' title at the French Open.
Meanwhile, Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock lost 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4 to the French team of Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in a second-round men's doubles match.
Next up for the seventh-seeded Kvitova is a match against Zhang Shuai, China's first player in the fourth round in Paris since Li Na in 2012.
Top seed Djokovic joins select company
Novak Djokovic tied a record shared by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by getting to the fourth round of the French Open for the 11th consecutive appearance.
Djokovic has not had too much trouble, either: His 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Daniel Elahi Galan means the No. 1 seed has dropped merely five games in each of his three matches so far.
WATCH | Novak Djokovic cruises to 4th round:
The match was played in a light rain in the first set, and the shower grew stronger later, so the roof was shut.
Djokovic was never really tested by Galan and improved to 34-1 in 2020.
Next up for Djokovic as he pursues a second French Open title and 18th Grand Slam trophy overall: No. 15 seed Karen Khachanov.
Kenin downs qualifier in 72 minutes
Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin returned to the French Open's fourth round, blowing past Romanian qualifier Irina Bara 6-2, 6-0 in 72 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Kenin, the No. 4 seed, has advanced to the second week of all three Grand Slams in this pandemic-hit season. She won the Australian Open and reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open.
Zhang ended the run of French wild-card entry Clara Burel with a hard-fought 7-6 (2), 7-5 win in two hours 12 minutes on Court Simonne Mathieu.
The 31-year-old Zhang is ranked 39th and had never made it beyond the third round in her nine previous French Opens.
Tsitsipas moves on when Bedene exits with injury
Fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the fourth round at the French Open for the second year in a row. He advanced when Aljaz Bedene stopped playing in the third set because of an injured right ankle.
Tsitsipas led 6-1, 6-2, 3-1 when Bedene retired.
Tsitsipas was dominating the match. He had more than twice as many winners as Bedene, 28-13, and about a third as many unforced errors.
Also into the fourth round on Saturday was No. 30 seed Ons Jabeur. She became the first Arab woman to get that far in Paris by eliminating No. 8 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7), 2-6, 6-3.
Dimitrov to play in 4th round for 1st time
Grigor Dimitrov moved into the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time in 10 appearances at the tournament when his opponent Roberto Carballes Baena quit after two sets because of what he said a doctor diagnosed as a stomach virus.
The 18th-seeded Dimitrov was ahead 6-1, 6-3 when Carballes Baena stopped.
Dimitrov has been to the semifinals once at each of the other three Grand Slam tournaments, including the U.S. Open last year.
Danielle Collins authoring story-book ending?
Danielle Collins grabbed the last four games to come back and beat 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in the last third-round singles match at the French Open.
Collins' best performance at a Grand Slam tournament came when she made it all the way to the semifinals at the 2019 Australian Open.
But the 26-year-old American, who is ranked 57th, arrived in Paris last month with a 1-2 career mark at Roland Garros.
Her match against the 11th-seeded Muguruza began in Court Suzanne Lenglen but was interrupted by rain shortly after it began.
They eventually moved over to Court Philippe Chartier, where the retractable roof was closed.
Collins now will play No. 30 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia with a quarterfinal berth at stake.
WATCH | Eugenie Bouchard swept out of Franch Open in 3rd round:
In other matches Saturday:
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German player Daniel Altmaier is proving to be a force that's difficult to stop. He came through the qualifying tournament to reach the French Open main draw. The 22-year-old has now upset seventh-seeded Matteo Berrettini to storm into the fourth round with a 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4 win.
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Andrey Rublev advanced to the French Open fourth round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win against the unseeded South African Kevin Anderson. Rublev lost in the first round in his only previous appearance at Roland Garros in 2017. He was a quarter-finalist at the U.S. Open this year and in 2017.
With files from The Associated Press
