Montreal Canada) – Beatriz Haddad Maia of São Paulo at the WTA 1000 in Montreal, beating the Brazilian in the second round of the tournament last Wednesday, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez celebrated her home top-20 win and gave her rival plenty of praise.

“I think it was a fight with ups and downs, but I knew it was going to be like this because Bia is a fighter and a great player. She’s in the top 20 in the world and played extremely well this year,” said the 20-year-old Canadian.

“I had a chance in the first set to make it 5/2 and she fought back. In the second set I was ahead 3/1 and she fought back. So I wasn’t surprised when she won the second set. I thought to redefine my plan, to reorient myself and to play one point at a time”, added the tennis player of the house.

Playing in his hometown, Fernandez emphasized the importance of the home crowd in the game. “The crowd is there to cheer, so I just try to smile during the battle. I’m happy that today the balls entered the important moments and I took the victory,” observed the Canadian.

Currently ranked 81st, the Canadian has already been world number 13 and thinks of finding her best tennis. “I think the key for that is patience, then trust and faith. You know, I have a lot of positivity,” commented the young tennis player.

“Throughout a player’s career, at least for me, there are a lot of doubts because of the results not coming and the rankings going down, but I’m lucky to have a great support team. which is positive, tells me not to look at the leaderboards and just focus on work,” Fernandez added.

For her, the victory over Bia meant a lot. “I can say that even though my ranking is not there, my level of play is improving, and that’s the most important thing. I played against a top 20 and I see that my game has improved a lot “, he concluded.