(Dubai) Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez reached the quarter-finals of the doubles tournament with her American playing partner Bethany Mattek-Sands, Wednesday, at the Dubai Tennis Championship.
Fernandez and Mattek-Sands came from behind to defeat China’s Xu Yifan and Russia’s Aliaksandra Sasnovich 3-6, 6-1, 13-11 after an hour and 26 minutes.
They will now face the Russian duo of Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova, who defeated Mexico’s Giuliana Olmos and China’s Shuai Zhang 6-4, 6-2.
The day before, Fernandez saw her singles run in Dubai come to an abrupt halt after she fell sharply 6-1, 6-1 in the second round to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
For her part, Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu was ousted in the first round 6-3, 6-4 by Kazakh Elena Rybakina on Monday.
Moreover, Swiatek has already reached the semi-finals.
The 21-year-old Polish first eliminated Samsonova dryly 6-1, 6-0. She then took advantage of the package of ex-world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova to obtain a place in the semi-finals.
Pliskova withdrew from the tournament after beating Anhelina Kalinina 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-2 in the round of 16.
Swiatek, the holder of three career Grand Slam titles, has won her last five games — including the Qatar Open final last week.
Meanwhile, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka improved her 2023 record to 13-0 with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Jelena Ostapenko.
In the quarter-finals, second-seeded Sabalenka will play against Barbora Krejcikova. The latter defeated fellow Czech Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2.
American Madison Keys will meet her compatriot Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals. Keys defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-1, while Gauff benefited from the retirement of Australian Open finalist Rybakina with a lower back injury.
The final quarter-final will pit American and third-seeded Jessica Pegula against Czech Karolina Muchova.
