Leyla Fernandez upset by 15-year-old Russian in first round in Madrid

Leylah Annie Fernandez lost 6-3, 6-4 to 15-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the first round of the Madrid tennis tournament on Wednesday.

Fernandez, ranked 38th in the world, was not at her best against the Russian, who is ranked 194th in the WTA rankings, giving up after an hour and 16 minutes on the Spanish clay court.

The 20-year-old from Laval didn't seem to be in her element from the start. She had a first serve success rate of just 59.6 per cent compared to 70.1 per cent for the Russian.

Fernandez also won only 57.1 per cent of the points with her first serve and 63.2 per cent with her second. In comparison, Andreeva won 68.1 per cent with her first and 65 per cent with her second.

3 - Mirra Andreeva has become only the third 15-year-old to win a WTA 1000 match, and is only the second 15-year-old to defeat a top-50 opponent at WTA 1000 level, after CiCi Bellis defeated Zarina Diyas (Miami R2 2015). Announcement.#MMOPEN | @MutuaMadridOpen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/5fNH1LMS9J

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) April 26, 2023

The Quebecer also lacked opportunism in key moments of the match, being limited to one break of serve in six opportunities. Andreeva, meanwhile, broke Fernandez's serve three times in five opportunities en route to victory.

Andreeva will face Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, the 13th seed, in the second round.

In other action, Quebec's Eugenie Bouchard will begin her singles campaign later today against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 26, 2023.