L. FERNANDEZ/M. Andreeva
6-1, 6-4
THE MODERATOR: Leylah, congratulations. A great victory today over a top-10 opponent, and your first top-10 win of 2026. Can you just give us your keys to the match today.
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, well, first of all, thank you. I mean, it was definitely a tough match. I knew coming in it was going to be physical.
The key for me was to stay positive, stay strong, and to keep being patient. I mean, she wasn't going to give away some easy balls.
In the beginning there were a lot of long rallies, and that was a key for me to kind of stick with it, trusting in my abilities, and to continue on playing my game throughout the match.
THE MODERATOR: Questions?
Q. Is this becoming a superstition, an ice cream after a victory here?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yes (laughing). Yes, but also because the ice cream is good, so can't say no to ice cream.
Q. Just to expand on that first question, how big of a win is this for you, your confidence, just the way the season's been going, to show you what you're capable of out there?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, I mean, it means a lot, especially knowing that I've been training so well, so hard.
In the practice sets I've always played well, but to kind of execute the same things in matches is always a little bit different.
I'm just happy that today I was able to continue trusting myself and doing what I train.
It's going to help with the confidence, but we all know that on the next day everything starts at zero, everybody has a chance to go to the next round. So, just got to keep working hard, and keep having that mentality of fighting.
Q. How easy has it been to find motivation for this week, considering you're the lone Canadian remaining, you're playing on home soil, and now you're in the biggest win of the year, actually on the same day that Vicky hoisted the title in Canada exactly one year ago today?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Oh, wow, that was one year ago? Oh, my word. It's actually pretty crazy.
I actually have so much motivation this week. Not only because I'm playing here in Canada, but also because the crowd has just been super amazing. They motivate me so much in fighting and keeping disciplined and putting on a good show.
Another reason is also playing in front of my friends and family, getting to see them after matches, and also like hang out with them has always been so much fun.
These are the people that I haven't seen in a long time, so kind of going back to where it all started, playing in front of them, having fun, giggling and laughing, it always means so much to me. These are, like, the reasons that motivate me a lot.
Of course, hearing that I'm the lone Canadian, of course there's a little bit of pressure, but also a lot more motivation and reasons to keep going in the path that I'm on.
Q. Mirra really started pushing back towards the end of that second set. How did you reset, and what did you focus on to get things back to where you wanted to?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, I mean, it wasn't going to be straightforward, we knew that from the get-go. Mirra, she's a fighter. She's top-10 for a reason, top-5 for a reason. She's won a Grand Slam for a reason. So she wasn't going to just hand over the match to me, I knew that.
I think for me it was just to kind of to keep believing in myself in that moment. And to look at my box, look at my team, and use their energy as motivation to keep going, that I am doing a good job, and it's just a matter of keep believing it and executing.
Q. That first set you mentioned there were some long rallies to start, but then she had quite a few errors as well. She had 19 unforced errors in that first set. As you were trying to maintain that rhythm for yourself, it can be tricky, what are you telling yourself?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Telling myself to put the ball back in. I mean, I've trained a lot growing up in being consistent and hitting like a hundred balls in a row, and trying to hit, you know, a series where none of us miss.
It's like that's where I come back to. Like, I know I can do it.
There has been times where I just want to finish the point quickly, and in that moment I was like, no, trust in my abilities, trust in my fitness. I've put in the work. I know physically I'm strong. I know I can endure long rallies, long matches. So if it's going to take a hundred balls to hit to put it in to break her down, then so be it.
That was kind of the mentality. I knew that if I can do it, and if I can put a little bit more pressure, I will have my chances to hit winners, or to take more chances in the point.
Q. I wonder how you felt about the scheduling today, playing in the afternoon. I guess Mirra had the doubles as well, but you could have been part of an evening. Had you wanted to be part of another evening like that again tonight? How did you feel about it today?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: I mean, I found out about the scheduling a little bit yesterday, and I was a little bit upset. Because of course I love to play evening, especially here in Canada at home.
But like they explained, it was that Mirra had the doubles, so, you know, I kind of understood.
Frankly, I'm actually glad that, you know, they spoke to me beforehand. They gave me ample time. So I was able to kind of prepare myself mentally and kind of get over that little disappointment.
My team and I just said, like, Got to win to get an evening match. So hopefully next round we get an evening match. But if not, I just do hope that the fans can come out and have another full, packed stadium.
Q. You just mentioned it a little bit, but wondering what playing on Canadian soil means to you. Do you feel like it gives you extra motivation, a little extra pep in your step to be, not quite at home, but close to home?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yes, it actually does give me a lot of motivation, a lot of excitement. I mean, there's definitely nerves, but nerves means that I care. It's just like something that I love to feel. There's an athlete that said this, I think it's Eileen Gu, that said that, you know, all the emotions that I feel is because I care, and it makes me alive.
And that, I truly took it to heart, and I'm like, You know, that's true. Like, so many years, so many people say, like, you're not allowed to feel that, or you're not allowed to be upset, or you're not allowed to be nervous. You kind of put that down.
But the reality is it's just another emotion that make us feel alive. And it's something that you got to, like, kind of accept and use it moving forward.
I've been working hard in that aspect, and now I'm just excited. Excited to be at home, excited to be playing in Toronto, excited to be playing in front of Canadian fans.
It just gives me love and motivation to play tennis, the sport that I first started and fell in love with.
Q. With Eric Hechtman being added to your team relatively recently, can you attribute any of the success you're having here to some initial dividend that his coaching is paying off, or is it too soon to really say in that sense?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Well, I would say like it's a little too soon. But what I do like about his coaching is that he's working really well with my dad.
It's kind of an extra confidence in me, in my game. Like, he doesn't try to change my game, just trying to kind of add to it and make me believe in it a little bit more, especially on tight moments.
I mean, sometimes, like the past few years with my dad, we have been practicing going to the net. And, you know, now, like, I know I can do it. Now we just got set plays, and Eric is able to kind of tell me when is the right moment to use them.
So it just kind of works really well all together because we're able to communicate, we're able to work well, and within my abilities, within my style of game, the style of game that my dad has taught me over the years.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports