Canada’s Fernandez advances to junior girls semis at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez cruised into the semifinals of the Australian Open’s junior girls’ tournament on Thursday, downing France’s Manon Leonard 6-3, 6-1.

The 16-year-old from Montreal broke Leonard four times in the second set, including in the deciding game. Serving with a 5-1 deficit, Leonard dug herself into an 0-40 hole but fought off one match point before a forehand error handed Fernandez the victory.

Fernandez, seeded fourth in the junior tournament, converted on 7-of-11 break points overall and had 25 winners to Leonard’s 13.

The match lasted one hour 13 minutes.

Fernandez is No. 11 in the junior ITF rankings. Leonard in No. 89.

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The Canadian will face Russia’s Anastasia Tikhonova in the semifinals.

The Canadian Press