Tennis

Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez advances to main draw at Top Seed Open

Canada's Leylah Fernandez has advanced to the main draw at the Top Seed Open after defeating Australia's Arina Rodionova on Monday in Lexington Ky.

Montreal teen defeats Australia's Arina Rodionova at tennis tournament in Kentucky

Montreal's Leylah Annie Fernandez, seen above in action last summer, defeated Australia's Arina Rodionova 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the main draw of the Top Seed Open in Lexington, Ky., on Monday. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Canada's Leylah Fernandez has advanced to the main draw at the Top Seed Open.

The 17-year-old Fernandez downed Australia's Arina Rodionova 6-2, 6-3 on Monday to advance to the tournament's main draw through qualifiers.

The teenager from Montreal secured the match in one hour 20 minutes.

The 30-year-old Rodionova didn't help her cause with eight double faults, including five in the deciding set.

Fernandez, the 2019 French Open junior girls champion, will play American Sloane Stephens in the first round of the main draw.

She beat Stephens in March at the Monterrey Open, before the COVID-19 pandemic put WTA Tour play on hold through the spring.

Fernandez returned to the court in late June at the Credit One Bank Invitational in Charleston, S.C.

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