Leylah Fernandez downs Alexandra Eala in straight sets to take Stuttgart opener

There was no stopping Leylah Fernandez on Tuesday (14 April) in Stuttgart.

The 2021 US Open runner-up downed Alexandra Eala 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the WTA 500 stop, known for its difficult playing conditions on heavy indoor red clay.

The 23-year-old Canadian tennis star raced to the first set at a loss of just one game, and then broke in the third game of set two against her 19-year-old foe and gained a 5-2 lead.

But she failed to serve the match out at 5-2, and then squandered two match points in the following game on Eala's serve. She succeeded on her third chance, however, rallying back from love-30 at 5-4 and clinching the match on a forehand wide from Eala to win in one hour, 29 minutes.

It was the first meeting between the fellow left-handers.

"It was a very, very high performance," Fernandez said on court after the win, just her fifth of the season (5-9 record).

"I would say seven out of 10," she said, rating her performance. "It was an eight or nine out of 10 until the 6-1, 5-2, but there is always that lapse of concentration, so I'm happy that I stayed as positive as possible."

Fernandez will meet the winner of No. 5 seed Jasmine Paolini and Zeynep Sonmez in the second round, with a potential clash against top seed and world No. 2 Elena Rybakina lingering in the quarter-finals.

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