Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez, of Montreal, smiles during a news conference at the Odlum Brown VanOpen tennis tournament, in West Vancouver, B.C., on Monday, August 12, 2019. The 17-year-old will be the lone Canadian woman in the main draw at the Australian Open.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Canadian teenager Leylah Annie Fernandez has qualified for her first-ever Grand Slam main draw.
The 17-year-old from Laval, Que., defeated American Danielle Lao 7-5, 7-5 on Saturday in the final round of qualifiers for the Australian Open.
The 213th-ranked Fernandez will be the lone Canadian woman participating in the main draw at the tournament after downing No. 198 Lao in a match needing two hours 10 minutes to complete.
Canada’s top-ranked player, Bianca Andreescu, was forced to withdraw as she continues to rehab a knee injury that she suffered at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China.
There are four Canadians that will be hitting the court on the men’s side: No. 13 Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., No. 20 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, No. 32 Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., and Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil.