Leylah Fernandez deals Jessica Pegula opening exit in Washington ahead of key stretch

A day after second seed Emma Navarro was ousted at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, top seed Jessica Pegula also exited in her opening match.

Left-hander Leylah Fernandez knocked out the world No. 4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals in Washington, D.C. on Thursday evening. The Canadian wiped away an early break in the decider, before beating Pegula to the finish line when her opponent’s forehand clipped the tape and sailed wide on the first match point of the day.

“In the beginning of the third set, I didn’t do many adjustments. When I went to wipe off some sweat, my coach was telling me to stay positive, to think of something positive, to switch the mentality. It helped,” Fernandez told Luke Jensen in her on-court interview.

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At the 2021 US Open, Fernandez posted three Top 5 victories en route to her first Grand Slam final. Her win over Pegula marked her second Top 5 win since that memorable run, having edged then No. 4-ranked Elena Rybakina at the 2024 Cincinnati Open.

For Pegula, a return to the site of her maiden WTA title (2019) ended with a second consecutive loss. The 31-year-old fell in the first round of Wimbledon to Elisabetta Cocciaretto on the back of winning the 500-level tournament in Bad Homburg over Iga Swiatek, who went on to capture her sixth major title in London.

Stream: DC Open coverage live on the Tennis Channel app

Pegula heads into a crucial part of her season with a stellar set of results to defend. After representing the U.S. at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Buffalo, N.Y. native triumphed at the WTA 1000 in Toronto (held in Montreal this year) ahead of successive runner-up finishes to Aryna Sabalenka in Cincinnati and at the US Open. The ranking points accumulated during that 15-2 stretch account for 45.9% of Pegula’s current total haul.

Fernandez earned her first win in three encounters with Pegula, all coming on U.S. outdoor hard courts. For a place in the semifinals Friday, the 22-year-old gets her former doubles partner and fellow southpaw Taylor Townsend. The American qualifier blitzed sixth-seeded countrywoman Sofia Kenin, 6-3, 6-0, firing 17 aces.