The Canadian Leylah Fernández started the defense of her title at the Monterrey Open on Monday with victory over the Slovakian Anna Schmiedlova in straight sets 6-2 and 6-2, in the first round of the WTA 250 tournament.
in the first sleeve Fernandez, 19, a US Open 2021 finalist, showed precision on her serve and did damage from the back of the court to the Slovak by breaking the second and fourth games to go 4-0 away.
The 27-year-old European adjusted her shots, improved her serve, broke a serve and came up 4-2, a reaction that the Canadian contained with a break in the eighth that made it 6-2 in the set.
Fernandez, the second seed, broke fast again in the second set in the first and fifth games and with her serve she consummated her 6-2 superiority in the set and the match.
Spanish earlier Sara Sorribes, fourth seed, beat Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova in three sets 7-5, 6-7, 6-1.
The first set was even until heThe Iberian tennis player, number 36 in the world, broke in games nine and eleven and with his service he took the set 7-5.
Parity in the second set forced a ‘tie-break’ which the Russian won 7-2 and the sleeve 7-6.
Sorribes Tormo closed strong with a couple of breaks and won 6-1 in the third sleeve.
In another game the Colombian Camila Osorio, fifth favorite, triumphed over the Polish Magdalena Frech in straight sets 6-3 and 7-6.
In the first round, the Colombian dominated from the back of the field and he broke in games three, seven and nine to triumph 6-3.
Frech pressed in the second set, broke in the eleventh game, took a 6-5 lead, but failed to serve; the sleeve required a ‘tie-break’ in which Osorio won 8-6; 7-6 a set.
Mexican Marcela Zacarías also made it through the first round by eliminating American Harmony Tan 6-1, 6-7, 6-3.
In the first match of the day, the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad eliminated the Hungarian Panna Udvardy in three sets, 1-6, 6-1 and 7-5.
In other duels this Monday The British Heather Watson passed the round of the 32 best with partials of 6-3, 2-6 and 7-6 over the German Jule Niemeier and the Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova, who defeated the French Diane Parry 6-4 and 6-0.
The Monterrey Open hands out a prize pool of $235,000.