Fernandez Delivers to Upset Andreeva; Eala Grinds Past McNally

The two young lefties were divided among the sessions this time, with Canada's last hope for a singles title taking on the Roland-Garros champion in the daytime. The Filipina Phenom who has been stealing all the headlines once again was on second in the night session, this time following two experienced seeds.

CENTRE COURT - starts at 12:30 PM

• [2] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) d. [28] Ann Li (USA) 6-2, 7-5
  • For the second match in a row, Rybakina had to fight through a second-set letdown to advance, although this time she managed to avoid going to a decider. The Kazakhstani came out flying, breaking in the opening game and adding two more breaks to take the first set in just 30 minutes. However, she did drop serve late in the opener which may have been a harbinger of things to come. Just like her opening match, Rybakina's service level dropped midway through the second set and she was broken to go down 5-3. However, the world No. 2 locked in and fought back, breaking Li as the American served for the set and then saving a set point on her own serve to draw level at five. Rybakina broke again before serving it out, winning the last four games in a row.

Not before 1:30 PM 

• [30] Leylah Annie Fernandez (CAN)  d. [5] Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-4
  • In possibly her biggest win since the 2021 US Open, Leylah Annie Fernandez put on a clinic in suffocating counter-punching, smothering an erratic Andreeva. The only blip for the last Canadian standing came when she was trying to close out the win, getting broken the first time she served for it, but made no mistake on her second try. READ MORE

Not before 7:00 PM 

• [4] Coco Gauff (USA) d. [29] Maria Sakkari (GRE) 6-1, 6-4
  • Gauff relied on her return, breaking Sakkari five times across the two sets. The only real difficulty she faced was when trying to close out the match. She led 5-1 but the Geeek managed to reclaim a break get to 5-4, but Gauff managed to finish it off the second time she served for it.
• [25] Alexandra Eala (PHI) d. Caty McNally (USA) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
  • The night session looked like it might be a short one when Eala won five straight games from 1-3 down in the first to go up a set and then broke for a 2-1 lead in the second set. However, the Filipina started to struggle in the second, requiring treatment on her foot multiple times and could be seen grimacing in apparent discomfort. Her movement visibly hampered she twice let break leads slip away. She then had to break McNally when the American served for the set in the ninth game but the American was not to be denied, breaking in the 12th game to send the match to a decider. Eala reset and broke in the opening game of the third. That single break was the difference as she clung to that one break to escape with the win.

GRANDSTAND - starts at 11:00 AM

• [Q] Alina Korneeva d. [13] Iva Jovic (USA) 6-3, 6-4
  • From a set and a break at 4-3 down in qualifying, the 19-year-old Korneeva is now through to the fourth round of a WTA 1000 for the first time in her career. She came racing out of the gate on Friday morning against her fellow teen, breaking the 24th seed twice on her way to a 4-0 lead. Jovic only managed to recover one of the breaks before dropping serve again in the final game of the set. Holds of serve were hard to come by in the second, as each woman was broken three times on their way to 4-4. Korneeva put the pressure on again as Jovic served to stay in the match. The qualifier fought her way to match point where she laced a forehand winner at the end of a long rally to secure her second consecutive straight-set upset of a seed.
• Ulrikke Eikeri (NOR) / Quinn Gleason (USA) d. [WC] Bianca Andreescu (CAN) / Kayla Cross (CAN) 6-4, 7-6(3)
  • Andreescu and Cross gave hope to the Canadian faithful with a break in the opening game, but it was short-lived as they were immediately broken back. The Canadians were on the defensive through most of the first set, facing 12 break points, at least two in every service game, and were broken three times as they dropped the opener. They again broke to start the second but just like the first set, they were broken right back. The Canadians did rally from a break down and pushed the set to a tiebreak, but Eikeri and Gleason won their first two return points, racing out to a 4-1 lead that they never surrendered.

Not before 3:00 PM 

• Liudmila Samsonova d. [Q] Maya Joint (AUS) 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-2
  • Joint's luck finally ran out on Friday, but it was not without a fight. She clawed back in the first set from 4-0 down to get back to 5-5, only for Samsonova to break and then serve out the set, albeit after saving a pair of break-back points. The Aussie then rallied from a break down in the second and this time completed the comeback by taking a big early lead in the breaker. Joint then broke to start the third but that's when Samsonova said enough. She broke right back and won six of the last seven games to end the qualifier's run.

Not before 5:00 PM 

• [11] Naomi Osaka (JPN)  d. [20] Elise Mertens (BEL) 6-1, 6-2 
  • This was one-way traffic for Osaka from start to finish. The four-time major champion broke at the first opportunity and never looked back. She was never broken in the match, saving all three break points she faced, while keeping Mertens under constant pressure, securing two breaks in each set. 
• [12] Belinda Bencic (SUI) d. Taylor Townsend (USA) 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4
  • For three hours and 26 minutes, barely anything could separate Bencic and Townsend. The Swiss did everything she could to stay alive in the first set, rallying from a break down and saving three set points on her own serve, but just a single minibreak against her was the difference in the tiebreak. She got her revenge after a break-less second set, winning four of the last five points in the breaker to send the match to a decider. Bencic broke early in the third but Townsend refused to go away, levelling at 4-4. That was her last gasp though as the Swiss immediately broke again and managed to serve out the win.

COURT 4 - starts at 12:30 PM

• Ingrid Neel (EST) / Giuliana Olmos (MEX) b. [2] Anna Danilina (KAZ) / Aleksandra Krunic (SRB) 6-4, 7-5
  • Both sets were tight, with the pairs exchanging breaks throughout. Neel and Olmos saved their best for last, though, breaking in the final game each time to upset the second seeds.
• [3] Sara Errani (ITA) / Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) d. McCartney Kessler (USA) / Jessica Pegula (USA) 6-2, 3-6, 10-8
  • The first set was all Errani and Melichar-Martinez, as the pair won five straight games to take the lead. But Kessler and Pegula responded brilliantly in the second, converting the only break point either team had to send it to a match tiebreak. Winning points on serve proved the difference-maker in the tiebreak as 11 of the 18 points went to the returner. The 11th of those minibreaks came on match point as Errani and Melichar-Martinez squeaked out the win.
• Erin Routliffe (NZL) / Aldila Sutjiadi (INA) d. [4] Hanyu Guo (CHN) / Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 6-3, 6-7(4), 10-5
  • The Wimbledon champions ran into trouble on serve late in the first set, getting broken three times in a row to fall behind. While they still struggled in the second, they managed to break as many times as they were broken and squeaked out the breaker to stay alive. But in the match tiebreak, the inability to win on their own delivery cost Guo and Mladenovic as they lost their first five service points, allowing Routliffe and Sutjiadi to pull away.
• [1] Katerina Siniakova (CZE) / Shuai Zhang (CHN) d. Mirra Andreeva / Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 6-2, 6-2
  • The top seeds bookended the match with big runs. They started the match with a pair of breaks, racing out to a 4-0 lead. Then in the second, after Andreeva and Cirstea held their first two service games, they went on another tear, winning the last five games to clinch an easy win on a day when seeded teams struggled.

COURT 3 - starts at 12:30 PM

• Tereza Mihalikova (SVK) / Olivia Nicholls (GBR) d. Cristina Bucsa (ESP) / Eudice Chong (HKG) 4-6, 7-5, 11-9
  • Mihalikova and Nicholls let leads slip away in both sets, but they managed to recover to win the second and send the match to a super tiebreak. They also took an early lead in the breaker but this one, they did not let go of. A quick 4-1 lead was enough cushion as they only lost one point on their own serve in the match tiebreak.
• Asia Muhammad (USA) / Fanny Stollar (HUN) d. Qianhui Tang (CHN) / Yifan Xu (CHN) 4-6, 6-3, 10-7
  • A late break cost Muhammad and Stollar the opening set, but they were largely in control the rest of the way. They never faced a break point in the second while converting two of their eight chances and then raced out to a 7-1 lead in the match tiebreak, fending off a late charge from Tang and Xu to advance.

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Feature Photo : Morgan Givens/Wick Photography for National Bank Open