Leylah Annie Fernandez of Canada returns a shot to Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic in round 1 of the Rogers Cup women's tennis tournament in Toronto, on Aug. 5, 2019.MARK BLINCH/The Canadian Press
Canadian qualifier Leylah Annie Fernandez lost 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 7-5 to Japan’s Nao Hibino in the first round of the Japan Open on Tuesday.
Fernandez, a 17-year-old from Laval, Que., won two matches earlier this year against world No. 146 Hibino at smaller Canadian events.
Fernandez, ranked 236th in the world, won two qualifying matches to get into the main draw.
The French Open junior champion this year, Fernandez served for the match against Hibino at 5-4 in both the second and third sets, but couldn’t finish it off.
The match lasted 2 hours 54 minutes.