'People underestimate Leylah Fernandez' - Chris Evert gushes about Canadian's French Open chances
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ByOli Gent
Updated 30/05/2022 at 15:22 GMT
Chris Evert praised the "intense" mentality that Leylah Fernandez brought to the court, "valuing" every point, ensuring that she makes as few errors as possible. The Eurosport expert highlighted the "heart" and fighting spirit of the Canadian, who faces Martina Trevisan in the quarter-finals of the French Open on Tuesday. Fernandez lost in last year's US Open final to Emma Raducanu.
'People underestimate her' - Evert wowed by 'great player' Fernandez
Chris Evert was keen to affirm her "love" for Leylah Fernandez as she ran out of superlatives to describe the young Canadian.
The 19-year-old, who lost to Emma Raducanu in last year's US Open final, beat Amanda Anisimova in three sets to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open.
Fernandez will next face Martina Trevisan and 18-time Grand Slam champion Evert praised her "intangibles" and her skill on clay.
“I love her, I love her heart, her fight," said Evert on Eurosport.
"She’s just so intense out there. I just love the fact that she values every single point. She doesn’t get messy, she doesn’t make a lot of unforced errors.
"Remember: she got to the US Open final, but all the attention went to Emma Raducanu. She is the one that beat three of the top five female players in the world to get there; she had a much tougher draw. People underestimate her. She’s little, she’s not that big so she can’t overpower you, but it’s the intangibles and the way she directs the ball… she’s such a great player, especially on clay.”
Barbara Schett and Alex Corretja were in full agreement with eight-time Roland-Garros champion Evert, with Schett talking about how she "loves the way Fernandez plays on clay. She has so much finesse; that leftie serve, she opens up the court like Rafael Nadal. I really love what I see.”
Corretja, himself a twice-finalist on the Paris dirt, shared a laugh with Schett about his supposed desire to coach the Canadian prodigy.
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Roland Garros: Leylah Fernandez produces a nice half volley in a dynamic and shotr rally against Anisimova
Image credit: Eurosport
“You asked me who I would coach - I said why not Leylah Fernandez!" laughed Corretja.
"I adore her; she’s so nice. She moves extremely well and has a great attitude on the court. I love that. If you [are] to work with someone, you need to feel like they are a nice person, and secondly, they are going to give 100% with a good attitude, because what is life without [a good] attitude?"
Corretja then went into detail about Fernandez's style of play, and how her movement aids her clay-court game.
"Every time Leylah steps on court, she is trying to find different angles, a different game… I like the way she moves on the court, the fact that she is playing on clay… it’s a little bit difficult in a way because she goes very flat with her shots so I feel like sometimes it might bounce badly for her, but no; she adapts very well. I hope she can go even further in the tournament.”
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