Quebec’s Leylah Fernandez and compatriot Rebecca Marino both reached the final qualifying round for Sunday’s Doha tournament in Qatar.
Fernandez, 39th in the world rankings, initially equalized a set deficit to defeat the Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska (102nd) 3: 6, 6: 3 and 6: 3.
The winner quickly took a break lead in game three of the match, but her opponent immediately came back with an equal serve before taking the set away. Fernandez, on the other hand, started the next two sets with breaks without flinching.
Marino (74th) proved with his victory over Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 38th in the WTA rankings, that the odds were wrong. She did it in three sets 6-3, 3-6 and 6-4.
Both women shone on the return of serve as 23 break points were contested. However, the Canadian had the advantage with six breaks in 13 opportunities against five of 10 for her opponent. She was also slightly better with balls, slamming 11 aces.
The opponents of the two maple leaf representatives were not yet known in the morning.