Leylah Fernandez of Canada hits a return to Peyton Stearns of the United States, during the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal, Tuesday, August 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

MONTREAL - Still seeking her first win in Montreal, Leylah Fernandez said she had nerves before her first-round match on Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m playing in front of a home crowd, I want to do well for them,” she said.

But those jitters weren’t apparent as the 20-year-old from nearby Laval, Que., cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over American qualifier Peyton Stearns to advance to the second round at the National Bank Open and earn her first win in Montreal.

Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., who cited some back pain after her match, couldn't keep the Canadian momentum going in the evening session. She lost 6-3, 6-2 to Italy’s Camila Giorgi in a battle of two former National Bank Open champions.

Fernandez barely left her result in doubt, taking control from the beginning and winning the women's singles match in 76 minutes.

To get in the zone amid the added pressure of performing at home, Fernandez said she stuck to her usual pre-game routine of playing soccer to get loose and bumping some 1980s music — including her favourite song, "Don’t Stop Believin'" by Journey.

Once on the court, Fernandez had the cheering partisan crowd in her ears to motivate her.

It was Fernandez’s first match at home since becoming a Grand Slam finalist at the 2021 U.S. Open. Last time out in Montreal in 2021, she lost in the opening round with the number of fans limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fernandez said it was a dream come true to get her first Montreal win in front of a Centre Court crowd that grew steadily throughout the sunny afternoon at IGA Stadium.

"I'm super happy that I got my first one here in Montreal, it means the world to me," she said. "The crowd was amazing. I felt their positivity, their emotions.

"It has always been a dream of mine to play here in front of a packed house and the crowd’s just been tremendous for me."

Fernandez, who hit five aces and held serve all but once, went on the offensive early and broke Stearn’s serve twice en route to taking the opening set.

The Canadian carried that momentum and her aggressive play into the second, going up two breaks for an early 4-0 lead en route to taking the set.

"Please come to the next match and cheer me on," Fernandez told the fans on court after the victory.

She improved her singles record to 21-16 this year, a season in which she’s had problems stringing together success.

Fernandez reached a career-high No. 13 ranking exactly one year ago Tuesday. Now she’s 81st and looking to climb back up.

The next test for Fernandez is No. 11 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil, who she'll play during Tuesday's day session. Haddad Maia beat Fernandez in the second round in Toronto last year.

Andreescu had the same partisan crowd behind her, but ran into a hot opponent in Giorgi.

The Italian qualifier, who won the tournament last time in Montreal, hit winner after winner en route to victory.

Andreescu fell to 0-2 to start the hard-court season and showed her frustration at times, launching a ball into the crowd near the end of the second set.

The 2019 U.S. Open champion said after the match that she'd been experiencing some back pain — "(sacroiliac) joint pain to be exact" — dating back to the Citi DC Open in Washington last week.

"It's hard when I keep getting asked this question like, if I'm healthy, what's going on. In a way I am but I'm not," she said. "With SI joint pain, it's very difficult because it's nothing very serious, but if you do push, you do feel a lot of pain.

"Today I felt it a bit more and it did impact my performance sadly."

Andreescu said she would take a few days off and wasn't sure if she'd play in the upcoming Cincinnati Open. She said her goal is to be ready for the U.S. Open, which gets underway in late August/early September.

Giorgi takes on No. 7 seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the next round.

Earlier Tuesday, Caroline Wozniacki made a triumphant return to tennis, defeating Kimberly Birrell of Germany in straight sets.

Wozniacki dominated from the start, securing a 6-2, 6-2 victory while pushing her Australian opponent across the court during rallies.

The former World No. 1 and 2018 Australian Open champion received a wild-card entry into the National Bank Open main draw after retiring in 2020 to start a family.

"I tried to explain to (two-year-old daughter) Olivia I was going to play a match, and she goes: 'OK, Mama, I have a wish. I wish you win,'" said Wozniacki.

The Dane will face Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, who beat Mayar Sherif of Egypt 6-4, 6-2.

No. 5 seed Caroline Garcia of France fell to Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic.

American Madison Keys, who beat Venus Williams on Monday, and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus withdrew from the tournament due to injury.

Later Tuesday, No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazhakstan and American Jennifer Brady were deadlocked 6-6 in the first set when the showdown was halted due to rain. The match will resume on Wednesday.

In women's doubles play, Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and partner Erin Routliffe of New Zealand defeated Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic and Donna Vekic of Croatia 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 to advance to the Round of 16.

Montreal's Eugenie Bouchard and Vancouver's Rebecca Marino lost 6-7 (6), 6-4, 10-8 to No. 6 seeds Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine.

The WTA 1000-level tournament runs through Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2023.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2023