Leylah Fernandez handed Donna Vekic her first career United Cup singles defeat on Saturday in Perth, with a 6-4, 6-3 opening victory giving Canada a 1-0 lead over Croatia in Group A.
United Cup: Scores| Draws| Order of Play
Though Vekic, in her third tour for Croatia in the competition, was previously 5-0 in United Cup singles matches, she also had never faced a Top 20 opponent in United Cup to date.
While Fernandez, Canada’s top player, is currently ranked No.31, the 2021 US Open finalist punched above her weight in 2024 and continued that in her season opener. Six of her 10 career Top 20 victories came last season, and she needed 1 hour and 26 minutes to add another win against that ranking group to her ledger against No.19 Vekic.
There was little to separate the two players in the opening set in RAC Arena, with neither player even facing a break point in the first nine games. But a forehand winner from Fernandez turned a 0-15 10th game lead into a true opening, and a double fault by the Croatian gave the Canadian three chances for a one-set edge. Ultimately, she’d need four: After Vekic clawed back to deuce, and failed to convert a game point of her own, she double faulted for a second time in the game to hand Fernandez the set.
Another double fault, Vekic’s sixth in the match, proved key in the decisive second-set break, with the Croat serving in the eighth game of set two. Having worked out of 0-40 in her previous service game, there was no such escape for Vekic the second time around. Following the double fault, two missed backhands gave Fernandez the break—and a love hold, punctuated with her fourth ace, sealed the win.
“I’m super happy with the way that I played, the way that I stayed consistent in the tough moments,” Fernandez said on-court post-match. “Donna, she’s an incredible player and incredible fighter, and I knew she wasn’t going to give it to me, especially at the start of the second set. I’m just happy that I stayed mentally strong.”
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Felix Auger-Aliassime will attempt to clinch the tie for Canada in his United Cup singles debut when he faces Borna Coric.