TORONTO -- Leylah Fernandez is out of the singles draw at the National Bank Open.
The Canadian tennis star was upset 6-4, 6-2 by American qualifier Ashlyn Krueger in second-round action Thursday.
Fernandez -- the tournament's No. 15 seed from Laval, Que. -- was the last Canadian player remaining at the country's signature event, including the men's bracket in Montreal.
Marina Stakusic, a 19-year-old wild card from Mississauga, Ont., was also eliminated after getting thumped 6-0, 6-2 by Taylor Townsend of the U.S.
No. 1 seed Coco Gauff, meanwhile, cruised past Yafan Wang 6-4, 6-2.
The 20-year-old American, who won last year's U.S. Open and was coming off a third-round showing on clay at the Paris Olympics following the grass season, played her first hard-court match of 2024.
"It's not easy transitioning from all these different surfaces in such a short amount of time," Gauff said. "Happy to get pushed through."
Other seeds advancing at the US$3.2-million event were No. 5 Daria Kasatkina, No. 6 Liudmila Samsonova, No. 8 Emma Navarro, No. 10 Anna Kalinskaya, No. 11 Marta Kostyuk, No. 13 Beatriz Haddad Maia and No. 14 Diana Shnaider. No. 7 Madison Keys retired from her match with a thigh injury.
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who won this year's Australian Open, was slated to face Yue Yuan in the night session.
Toronto tournament director Karl Hale tried to put a positive spin on an event that had already dealt with a number of withdrawals last week -- led by world No. 1 Iga Swiatek -- before the Canadians all crashed out in singles, including 2019 winner and Mississauga product Bianca Andreescu in Tuesday's first round.
"That's the beauty with the depth of the draw," said Hale, who added Olympic bronze medallist Gabriel Dabrowski of Ottawa is competing in doubles. "This is the greatest show in woman's sport.
"That's what happens on the WTA Tour -- you just never know."
Ranked No. 25 in the world, the 21-year-old Fernandez found herself down 5-4 to Krueger in the first set, but was unable to finish the job up 40-0 with five break-point opportunities on an overcast afternoon at Sobeys Stadium.
"Fun environment," Krueger said of the partisan crowd. "Turned it around and acted like everyone was cheering for me."
The 82nd-ranked American picked up a break in the first game of the second set and led 3-1 before holding to go up 4-2 thanks to some terrific serving.
Krueger then took a 5-2 edge on Fernandez, who didn't register a break for the first time since last year's third-round NBO defeat in Montreal, before finishing things off on a third match point.
The 20-year-old won 71.7 per cent of her first-serve points compared to 59.5 per cent for Fernandez.
"These courts really help my serve," said Krueger, who lost to Fernandez on grass in their only other meeting. "I've been taking a lot of opportunities to come forward because they're faster … definitely helps my game."
Stakusic, meanwhile, showed some life in the second set by winning two games and getting back on serve against Townsend, but the world No. 160 couldn't keep the momentum going against the 71st-ranked American.
Fernandez, who made the 2021 U.S. Open singles final, and younger sister Bianca were also scheduled to play doubles against Krueger and American partner Catherine Harrison later Thursday.
Edmonton's Mia Kupres and Ariana Arseneault of Richmond Hill, Ont., advanced to the quarterfinals without swinging a racket because of an opponent's injury.
The NBO men's singles competition at IGA Stadium in Montreal saw its remaining Canadians ousted Wednesday when stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov were both eliminated.
Hale, however, isn't sounding alarm bells about the state of tennis in this country because of one high-profile -- and disappointing -- week.
"They're young," he said of Canada's stable of talent. "There's ebbs and flows in their career. Felix had really tough year last year. This year he's come back really strong.
"You'll see Denis, Felix, Leylah, Bianca start to move forward again."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2024.
