Canadian Leylah Fernandez handled France’s Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 7-5 in the headlining match Sunday at the Strasbourg Open in Strasbourg, France.
The No. 23 player in the world, Fernandez was the highlight on Day 1 of the traditional French Open lead-in tournament, saving eight of nine break points on the clay surface to win in 1:39.
Fernandez was also 5-of-10 in return games won, compared to 1-of-9 by her opponent. Seeded seventh, the 23-year-old Fernandez will face Magdalena Frech of Poland or qualifier Talia Gibson of Australia in the next round.
Three Americans advanced on Sunday, as Ann Li controlled Australia’s Maya Joint 6-1, 6-2, Peyton Stearns cruised past Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-1 and Emma Navarro downed the Czech Republic’s Sara Bejlek 6-1, 6-4.
In the other first-round match, France’s Lois Boisson was able to close out China’s Wang Xinyu 6-3, 7-6 (4) to set up a second-round match with top-seeded Victoria Mboko of Canada.
–Field Level Media
