Fernandez, Canada dominate qualifier for Billy Jean King Cup
Leylah Fernandez won over the Pacific Coliseum crowd with her play and her words.
Fernandez, the 19-year-old from Laval, Que., clinched a Canadian sweep in their Billie Jean King Cup qualifier with Latvia on Saturday at the Rink on Renfrew with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Daniela Vismane in a tidy hour.
Afterwards, Sportsnet's Arash Madani interviewed Fernandez on the court and she got a rousing ovation from fans with her answer to his question about how Canada might fare in the 12-nation Billie Jean King Cup finals in November.
“Oh, we can win it. We can win it,” Fernandez said.
Canadian captain Heidi El Tabakh echoed those thoughts when asked the same question.
Canada has never won the Billie Jean Cup, which was formerly known as the Fed Cup and dates back to 1963. The Americans have won it 18 times. The Russians won last year, beating the Swiss in the final in Prague last November.
“I really do believe that we can go all the way. I really do believe that we can win the Billie Jean King Cup. We have a tough team. I hope at the end of the year we're able to make it happen,” El Tabakh said.
Fernandez, who's ranked No. 21 in the world, beat No. 389 Darja Semenistaja 6-1, 6-2 in mere a 53 minutes on Friday at the Coliseum to open proceedings and then Vancouver's Rebecca Marino beat Vismane 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3. Marino had 17 aces in the two-hour, seven-minute match.
The 31-year-old Marino is ranked No. 111 in the world, while the 21-year-old Vismane is No. 267.
Fernandez converted five of eight break points against Vismane. Fernandez added 23 winners.
Fernandez was asked by Madani what her memories of Saturday will be.
“I think my favourite moment of today was just hearing everybody ... every single person in the Coliseum ... cheering us on,” she said. “Hearing the `Go Canada, go,' and the `Go Leylah.' That's my favourite part. The atmosphere and the energy that you gave me.”
With the win by Fernandez, the scheduled match between Marino and the 19-year-old Semenistaja was called off. The exhibition doubles match between Ottawa's Gabrela Dabrowski and Toronto's Carol Zhao and Vismane and Semenistaja had Canada win 6-1, 6-3.