Canadian tennis star Leylah Fernandez reveals she still plays with the underdog mentality and she feels she always has something to prove whenever she takes to the court for a match.
On Sunday, Fernandez reached her second Grand Slam quarterfinal after beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3 4-6 6-3 at the French Open.
Both players struggled on their first serve in the first set but Fernandez took the opened as she had four breaks compared to two lost service games.
After losing the first set, Anisimova broke Fernandez early in the second set but failed to serve out for the set in the ninth game.
However, failing to serve out for the set didn’t impact Anisimova, who broke Fernandez in the 10th game to still win the opener.
In the third set, Fernandez broke Anisimova twice and earned a three-set win.
Fernandez: I have the underdog mentality
“Every time I step out on the court I still have something to prove. I still have that mindset I’m the underdog. I’m still young, I still have a lot to show to the people, to the public so that they can just enjoy the tennis match. That’s ultimately my goal, and that’s why I want to do well in matches,” Fernandez said, per the WTA website.
Fernandez, who reached her maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open last year, is showing that he is capable of playing well on clay as well.
Becoming a kind of clay specialist landed Fernandez a few nicknames.
“I think it’s actually pretty amazing that [the media] came up with Clay-lah, because I have no creativity for that. I wouldn’t think of that nickname,” Fernandez said of her nicknames. “But my family do use the nickname Leylannie, using my first and middle name, and they put it together, which I always like. I know that I’m doing things right or I’m being a good kid when they’re calling me Leylannie.”