Leylah-Annie-Fernandez

MADRID – Canada’s Leylah Annie Fernandez was eliminated from qualifying for the Madrid Open after a 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-4 loss to Croatia’s Ana Konjuh on Tuesday.

Fernandez, from Laval, Que., was seeded 12th in the qualifying tournament.

Both players had difficulty holding serve. Konjuh broke Fernandez five times on 15 chances, while Fernandez was good on six of her 12 break-point opportunities.

Konjuh will next face Nina Stojanovic of Serbia.

The 18-year-old Fernandez, ranked 72nd in the world, was coming off wins over Stojanovic and Olga Danilovic earlier this month in Canada’s 4-0 win over Serbia at the Billie Jean King Cup.