Fernandez on fire with 8th straight Asian win

Leylah Fernandez set a career-best mark with the eighth consecutive match win which took the Canadian into the semi-finals of the WTA event in Nanchang, China on Friday.

The 2021 US Open finalist, ranked 43rd after once touching the Top 20, did double duty on a day of rainy weather, knocking off back-to-back opponents in delayed matches.

She first took on Chinese qualifier You Xiaodi, winning 6-4, 6-1 in the second round. Four hours later she was back in action, defeating Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3, 6-4 to move into the final four for a second consecutive week.

Last Sunday, Fernandez ended a title drought approaching two years as she took Hong Kong trophy honours.

.”It was definitely hard, emotionally and mentally,” the winner said of her busy day on court.

“But I’ve been training in extremely tough conditions at home. My coach has pushed me hard mentally, emotionally and physically.

“I can get ready for these types of matches and these types of days.”

Fernandez called Xiaodi “very difficult to play against — one, she had the home crowd with her and two, her game is very different from a lot of the women.”

She said it was a contrast in styles against the experienced Sasnovich.

“She’s very offensive, very aggressive, very fast too. So I just tried to be faster than her and put one more ball in.”

The New York runner-up two years ago to Brit Emma Raducanu now bids for the Chinese final against Katerina Siniakova – a rematch of the Hong Kong final five days ago.