By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, May 27, 2022
US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez edged Belinda Bencic and will play Amanda Anisimova in a blockbuster Roland Garros fourth-round clash of young stars.
Photo credit: Getty
Amanda Anisimova pulled the plug the last time she faced Leylah Fernandez.
Rising young stars should bring electric energy to their Roland Garros rematch.
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US Open finalist Fernandez will face 2019 Roland Garros semifinalist Anisimova for a quarterfinal spot after both women scored tough three-set wins today.
The left-handed Fernandez won eight of the final nine points fighting off 14th-seeded Swiss Belinda Bencic 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to secure her first French Open fourth-round spot.
The 17th-seeded Fernandez’s win came one round after Olympic gold-medal champion Bencic knocked the Canadian’s compatriot, 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, out of the tournament.
A fearless Fernandez, who beat Bencic on her home soil in the 2020 Billie Jean King Cup qualifier, was moving fluidly and firing her forehand with ambition on pivotal points.
“It was an incredible fight,” Fernandez said. “I think today I was just trusting my game when it mattered the most, and I'm just glad that I was able to trust it enough for me to keep going and keep executing the game plan.
“Afterwards, just enjoying the moment and enjoying the time that I had in Philippe Chatrier in front of an amazing crowd. I'm glad that I was able just to soak every minute in and play well, play well when it mattered and play well in front of a beautiful crowd.”
No. 27-seeded Anisimova led 2021 Australian Open semifinalist Karolina Muchova 6-7(7), 6-2, 3-0 when the Czech was forced to retire due to a sprained right ankle.
Muchova, who was playing just her fourth tournament since suffering an abdominal tear that ended her 2021 season at the US Open, rolled her ankle chasing a forehand two games into the second set. Though she gamely played on, a hobbled Muchova had trouble pushing off and could barely move when she retired.
“I think that all players can make easy mistakes when they're stressed,” Anisimova said. “Yeah, it wasn't a great first set for me, I was making some mistakes that I normally wouldn't make. But I'm just happy with the way I was able to handle it, like in the second set, and just bounce back.
“So, yeah, I just reset and I, I don't know, started playing a bit better, so that's something that I worked on and, yeah, like last year was difficult for me, but I've turned things around. I'm enjoying playing tennis more now so, yeah, just my outlook is different.”
Seven of the Top 10 women's seeds failed to survive round three.
Upsets create wide-open opportunity in the bottom half of the draw where the 17th-seeded Fernandez, 18th-seeded Coco Gauff, who faces No. 31-seeded Elise Mertens for a quarterfinal return, and 23rd-seeded Swiss Jil Teichmann, who knocked off former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in a third-set tiebreaker today, are the highest seeds still standing.
The 20-year-old Anisimova carries a 13-3 clay-court record on the year into the rematch with Fernandez—and may well carry memories of their last meeting in Indian Wells in March.
Anisimova led Fernandez 6-2, 5-4, 40-Love in Indian Wells before squandering four match points.
A feisty Fernandez exploited the lapse rolling through the second-set tiebreaker at Love before Anisimova walked to the chair umpire and said she was retiring. Though the umpire urged Anisimova to wait for the supervisor, the young American walked off the court.
Former Roland Garros girls’ champion Fernandez is fired up for a rematch with Anisimova.
“Amanda is a great player. She's been at this stage for like a few times, actually,” Fernandez told the media in Paris. “Like, she's been deep into tournaments a lot this year, so I know she's going to be a tough player. I just need to focus on myself.
“I will be talking with my coach, my team, and see what I can improve and what I need to do for my next match. Hopefully I can play a good game and put on a good show for the fans. I unfortunately did not play many matches against her in the juniors, but I do remember watching her playing, and what she did is nothing less than incredible.”
Three years ago, Anisimova became the youngest American to reach the Roland Garros semifinals since Jennifer Capriati in 1990.
Anisimova will take another shot at Fernandez on Sunday.
“I played her this year so I know her game a bit more, but, yeah, we'll see,” Anisimova said. “I haven't played a lefty yet this week so far so I'm just ready for the challenge and excited for it.”