N. OSAKA/L. Fernandez
6-4, 6-4
THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions in English first, and then we'll switch over to French. Leylah, can you first just summarize your thoughts on the match, and also your week overall here in Toronto.
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Well, let's start with the match. I mean, pretty disappointed a little bit today with some key moments.
I mean, I feel like I made some mistakes. And, you know, I felt like I had some opportunities to take advantage of the moment, of being ahead and kind of putting pressure on her, but I didn't do a good job of keeping the ball in.
Naomi, she's a champion, she's a tremendous player, she did what she had to do to get the win.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. A few of your other matches against Naomi were really tight. Do you feel like it was anything that Naomi did, not differently, but was her level higher, or do you just think it just was a matter of you not taking advantage of your opportunities like you just said?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: I would say it was just a matter of me not taking my opportunities. I mean, Naomi, did what she had to do, and I, unfortunately, did not.
I mean, I just remember a few key shots, like where I went to the net, and I let some balls go. I don't know if it gave her confidence, but it didn't help with my confidence.
It was just these small decisions that made a little bit the difference, and it just kind of mounted over and over until the end of the game.
Q. Was there a specific moment, like a specific shot that you can think of, that may have turned the tide for you?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: No, not necessarily a specific moment or a shot. I was just saying, like, as I said, it was just a couple points where it just kept getting more and more that, you know, I think it just made the difference. Like a few, like, Love-15s, 15-alls where, as I said, I let some balls go when I went to the net that, I mean, I should have hit a volley. Even if I missed a volley, at least I committed to hit it.
Some of the ground strokes going down the line, where it hits the tape, or I miss it wide, those are little mistakes that I don't think I did many of those in my past matches. Today I just did like one too many and, yeah.
Q. You mentioned those points just now, and the confidence going down in those moments. How do you tackle something like that moving forward where, you know, at the end of the day with tennis, you know, even the best players win like 50 percent of their points.
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, well, I mean, I think the biggest thing is just to keep practicing it, and then doing it in matches.
As I said, like, committing to it. And even if I miss the volley, at least I didn't let that go. So, like, those are the little things, find, you know, little kind of positive outcomes to it, and just to keep working at it.
Because it has worked in the past matches. It has worked out in the past for me the past couple years. So it's just to keep doing it, and keep trusting myself.
You know, we know that I'm not going to win all the points. But if I keep doing it, keep working on it, it will just become more and more second nature. Hopefully, it will be 51 percent of those points that I win, and I get the victory at the end of the match.
Q. Process-wise, do you feel positive about the match you played, like in the variety that you seem to have in coming to net and whatnot?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah. I mean, it was an okay match for me. Like, I did do my patterns. I did do what I trained.
But as I said, I think it was just mostly me needing to trust myself, and to fully commit to it.
Q. I wonder what it feels like to be the last Canadian standing in this tournament. I guess for the last couple days you were the last singles player to be going. Is there a weight to that?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yes and no. I mean, like, yes, there's a little bit of weight, especially when you're playing at home.
But at the same time, not really. Because, unfortunately, when I first started playing, there wasn't that many Canadians on tour. So it's like, a lot of, like, the media was already on us, especially the Canadian media.
But over the years Canadian tennis has improved. And that has always been our goal, that we want to see more and more Canadians in the draw and doing good.
So, you know, you kind of get used to it. You kind of see the progression.
For myself, it didn't feel like it was that much pressure, I think it was more excitement.
Q. I know it's just been a couple of tournaments, but what have you taken so far from your new partnership with Eric Hechtman?
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yes, I mean, it's been two tournaments, a total of three weeks that we've started working together, so it's fairly new.
As I said in the past conferences, what I like is that we're all able to communicate with each other. My favorite part is that there's no nonsense. He's very honest, and it's the same with my dad.
So it kind of works well that, you know, when there is something that, sorry, I was going to say, like, bullshit. I mean, he's not going to bullshit me.
And that's what I like about it. Because then I know that I'm going to work hard. I know that I'm going to put the effort in. But then I also know that I'm going to put it in the right direction with the right team.
My dad, he's the same, he's not going to bullshit me. He's going to say it as is. And them working together just kind of reinforces the same message. And it just gives me that confidence and that trust in the team that we have. Hopefully, the wins are going to come more my side.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports