“Amazing”: Fernandez stuns French Open champion Andreeva to light up Toronto

Leylah Fernandez produced one of the finest performances of her career to knock out world No 5 Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-4 on Friday evening, reaching the last 16 of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Toronto, and sending the home crowd into raptures.

Seeded 30th and ranked No 34, Fernandez was utterly dominant against the fifth seed, racing through the opening set for the loss of a single game before holding off a late push to close it out in the second.

It was a statement win over one of the game’s brightest young stars — Andreeva, the reigning Roland-Garros champion — and the Canadian’s first victory over her since 2023.

It was Fernandez’s 10th career top-10 win, and her first in over a year. In doing so, she became just the third Canadian woman since 2000 to reach double figures against the top 10, joining Eugenie Bouchard and Bianca Andreescu.

It also carried her into the fourth round in Canada for the first time since 2023.

Fernandez: “Oh my goodness, it feels amazing”

As the last Canadian standing in the singles draw, the result meant even more to the Toronto fans, and Fernandez, the 2021 US Open finalist who has always thrived on home energy, soaked it up. “Oh my goodness, it feels amazing,” she said on court. “Especially doing it at home in front of an amazing crowd. Thank you so much for showing up. Wow — I absolutely have no words. Thank you so much for coming out and cheering me on.”

Having eased past Mexico’s Renata Zarazua (6-2, 6-2) in the previous round, Fernandez now faces a daunting but glamorous next test: the winner of the clash between No 11 seed Naomi Osaka and No 20 seed Elise Mertens.

For Andreeva, who had crushed Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-2 in the round before, it was a rare off night at the worst possible time. For Fernandez and her country, it was a night to savour — the home favourite, roared on by her people, taking down a Grand Slam champion in style.