Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez smiles after a practice session for the Billie Jean King Cup tennis qualifiers against Belgium, in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, April 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
VANCOUVER – Canada and Belgium are tied at one match apiece after Ysaline Bonaventure beat Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a Billie Jean King Cup qualifier on Friday.
Marino utilized her powerful serve and forehand across the competitive two-hour, 21-minute match, but was undone by 79 unforced errors and 10 double faults.
Earlier in the day, Leylah Fernandez – Canada’s top seed in the best-of-five women’s World Cup of tennis competition – cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 win over Yanina Wickmayer.
The 20-year-old from Laval, Que., put away four aces and won 5-of-9 possible break points across the one-hour, five-minute match.
The event will continue Saturday with singles matches between Fernandez and Bonaventure, and Marino and Wickmayer, before Fernandez and Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski battle Kirsten Flipkens and Greet Minnen in doubles play.
The Vancouver event is one of nine qualifiers taking place around the globe this week. Winners will advance to November’s finals.
Separated by just five spots in the WTA rankings, Marino and Bonaventure fought through a tightly contested match characterized by long rallies and powerful shots Friday.
Marino, the current world No. 81, finally closed out the 57-minute first set with a forehand shot inside the sideline.
The Canadian then jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second, only to see the 86th-ranked Bonaventure claw her way back.
Bonaventure took the lead at 5-4 when Marino sent a return beyond the baseline, and she celebrated with an enthusiastic “C’mon!” and fist pump.
Marino couldn’t replicate the comeback after Bonaventure went up 4-1 in the final set. She closed the gap to 4-3 but ultimately fell to the 28-year-old Belgian.
Fernandez, the world No. 50, dominated from the outset of the qualifier’s opening match, blasting an ace down the line just minutes in.
With Canada up 5-0, Belgium took a timeout and a trainer came out to examine Wickmayer’s left ankle.
The former world No. 12, who currently sits at 190th, said after the match that the injury made serving painful. She won just 12-of-25 first service points across the match and chalked up three double faults.
Wickmayer rallied in the second set, forcing the young Canadian to change up her shot selection.
In the opening game, Fernandez tapped a ball over the net, only to see her opponent stretch out and make the return. But Fernandez was in good position and got her racket up in time to put the ball well over Wickmayer’s head.
The Belgian finally found an answer for Fernandez’s serve in the seventh game and broke her opponent to cut the deficit to 5-2 before the Canadian closed out the win.
Fernandez celebrated with an enthusiastic fist pump before shaking Wickmayer’s hand at the net and blowing a kiss to the crowd.
In addition to a hometown crowd, the Canadian contingent had a familiar face courtside Friday. Bianca Andreescu, who was originally scheduled to play in the qualifier, provided encouragement from the Team Canada box.
At No. 27, Andreescu is Canada’s top-ranked women’s tennis player.
The 22-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., dropped out of the qualifier after suffering two torn ankle ligaments at the Miami Open last month. She was replaced by Toronto’s Katherine Sebov, who is not scheduled to play.
Last year, Canada swept Latvia in a qualifier and advanced to the finals in Glasgow where they topped Italy before falling to Switzerland in group play. Switzerland went on to win the world title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2023.
