Leylah Fernandez Indian Wells
Canadians were sent packing early at the Abu Dhabi Women’s Tennis Open, with Bianca Andreescu, Leylah Fernandez and Rebecca Marino all losing their first-round matches on Tuesday.
Andreescu, who advanced to the semifinals of last week’s Thailand Open before retiring with a shoulder injury, lost 7-6 (2), 6-2 to Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.
Putintseva broke Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., five times on nine chances, and strung together a five-game winning streak in the second set to put the match away.
Fernandez, from Laval, Que., fell 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 to Shelby Rogers. The American saved all four break points she faced, while breaking Fernandez three times on six chances.
Vancouver’s Marino lost 6-3, 6-3, to China’s Zheng Qinwen, who fired 10 aces in the match while committing just one double-fault to Marino’s six.
Both Fernandez and Marino advanced to the main draw of the WTA 500 event through qualifying.
