Canada plays its first game in the Billie Jean King Cup final against Spain in Seville on Wednesday.
The meet is currently being presented on TVA Sports.
Canada quickly took a 1-0 lead as Marina Stakusic made short work of her rival Rebeka Masarova 6-3, 6-1.
The session lasted 1 hour 09 minutes.
Stakusic, 18 years old and 258th in the WTA ranking, convincingly surprised the 65th player in the world.
But it has to be said that the Canadian has been on a roll lately, winning three ITF tournaments, including the one in Toronto at the end of October.
In the end, Stakusic made an ace and double-faulted. However, she won 62 points compared to just 35 for her rival.
Stakusic took advantage of four of his seven break chances. For her part, Masarova failed to break the Canadian five times.
“I feel so good,” Stakusic said after the game. I’m super happy with my performance today. From the beginning, I tried to have energy and show that I belong here. […] The Canadian fans helped me a lot today. It really motivated me to keep going. But also the Spanish partisans. I like it when there is noise, that was very motivating.”
Fernandez is currently facing Sara Sorribes Tormo in second singles. Finally, Dabrowski and Fernandez will face Marina Bassols Ribera and Cristina Bucsa in doubles.
Eugenie Bouchard and Rebecca Marino are also part of the Canadian delegation.
Fernandez played a key role in Canada qualifying for this final stage. The Maple Leaf defeated Belgium in April thanks to Laval’s singles win over Ysaline Bonaventure and her other victory alongside Gabriela Dabrowski in the deciding doubles match.
After Spain, the Canadians will meet the Poles the next day to complete the preliminary round. Only the best team in each group makes it to the playoffs.
Last year, Canada was eliminated in the group stage with a loss to eventual event winners Switzerland.