Fernandez entered her match against fifth seed Andreeva and snapped her streak of defeats in a big way, matching her best-ever result at her country's signature event. The win left the 30th-ranked Fernandez primed for a Round of 16 clash with former US Open winner Naomi Osaka, the 11th seed getting the better of 20th seed Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-1, 6-4.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Canadian star routed the No. 5 seed 6-1, 6-4 in 1 hour and 21 minutes to return to not just the Round of 16 in Toronto, a result she previously recorded in Montreal in 2023, but also score her first Top 10 victory in more than a year. She last beat a player ranked as highly as Andreeva when she beat then-World No. 4 Jessica Pegula on the way to winning the Mubadala DC Open last year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Fernandez cruised against an out-of-sorts Andreeva up until 6-1, 5-1, when the 20-year-old came alive to hold from 0-30 in the eighth game and close the game to 5-4. But a key forehand miss at 0-15 on Fernandez's serve at 5-4 turned what turned out to be the final game around, and the No. 30 seed wrapped up the win three points later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"The key for me was to stay positive, stay strong, and to keep being patient. I mean, she wasn't going to give away some easy balls,\" Fernandez said afterwards. \"In the beginning there were a lot of long rallies, and that was a key for me to kind of stick with it, trusting in my abilities, and to continue playing my game throughout the match.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The stat line of the match agreed with the left-hander's strategy. Andreeva made 19 unforced errors in the first set, and 34 for the match -- double her 17 winners. Fernandez, meanwhile, was tidy with eight winners and seven unforced errors.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"[I was] telling myself to put the ball back in. I mean, I've trained a lot growing up in being consistent and hitting like a hundred balls in a row, and trying to hit, you know, a series where none of us miss,\" Fernandez continued. \"It's like that's where I come back to. Like, I know I can do it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"There have been times where I just want to finish the point quickly, and in that moment I was like, no, trust in my abilities, trust in my fitness. I've put in the work. I know physically I'm strong. I know I can endure long rallies, long matches. So if it's going to take a hundred balls to hit to break her down, then so be it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"That was kind of the mentality. I knew that if I can do it, and if I can put a little bit more pressure, I will have my chances to hit winners, or to take more chances in the point.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"There have been times where I just want to finish the point quickly, and in that moment I was like, no, trust in my abilities, trust in my fitness. I've put in the work. I know physically I'm strong. I know I can endure long rallies, long matches. So if it's going to take a hundred balls to hit to break her down, then so be it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Osaka said the toughest task with Fernandez is simply her being left-handed. As for a particular shot, it's the left-handed serve that causes trouble for Osaka, and she pinpointed former World No. 1 Petra Kvitova's as an example. Osaka also lauded Fernandez's level-headed mindset throughout the match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n