Canada’s Fernandez ousted in third round of Miami Open by American Pegula

MIAMI – Canada’s Leylah Fernandez fell 7-5, 6-4 to Jessica Pegula of the United States in third-round action at the Miami Open on Sunday.

The Laval, Que., native committed four double faults, won 58.6 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on three of her nine opportunities. Each player had one ace.

Pegula — ranked fifth in the world — only had one double fault and won 70.5 per cent of her first-serve points, while breaking on five of her 13 chances.

The 35th-ranked Fernandez advanced after a 6-4, 6-2 second-round win over Colombia’s Emiliana Arango on Saturday.

On the men’s side, Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., also lost 6-3, 7-6 (7) to Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in a third-round match later Sunday.

Up 7-6 with a chance to push the match to a third set in the tiebreaker, Shapovalov gave up three straight points to drop the match in one hour 39 minutes. The match had a short delay due to rain.

In women’s doubles action, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe defeated Japan’s Miyu Kato and Indonesia’s Aldila Sutjiadi 6-4, 6-4 in second-round play.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2024.