Canada’s Leylah Fernandez suffered a defeat in the China Open women’s tennis tournament as she was beaten in three sets by Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan. Rakhimova emerged victorious with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 scoreline in the second round clash against the 23rd-seeded Fernandez hailing from Laval, Que.
Fernandez, who recently secured her sixth WTA win at the Singapore Open, faced a tough challenge from Rakhimova, who capitalized on her opportunities by converting five out of 11 break points compared to Fernandez’s two out of four.
During the match that lasted two hours and 32 minutes, Rakhimova displayed a solid performance by winning 63% of second-serve points, outperforming Fernandez who managed only 33% in this aspect.
Despite Fernandez’s 26th world ranking, Rakhimova, ranked 76th, demonstrated her prowess by securing her fourth career victory over a top-30 ranked player. This win comes as her second major upset in five weeks after defeating Barbora Krejcikova in the first round of the U.S. Open.
