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In a recent interview with WTA Insider, Leylah Fernandez spoke about her goals for the 2022 season. She stated that she wants to break into the top 10 and also win a Grand Slam title this year.
Leylah Fernandez played some quite amazing tennis in 2021. She won her maiden WTA title at the Monterrey Open and finished as the runner-up of the 2021 US Open. She finished the year at a career-high ranking of 24.
In the interview, Leylah Fernandez highlighted that she always sets "high objectives" for herself because her parents believe that it is a sign of confidence. She even revealed what success in tennis means to her, defining it as a means of "enjoying the sport" and playing on the court with joy and happiness.
“I’ve always had those high objectives because my parents said if you don’t set the bar high, then you don’t really believe in yourself. This season is still the same. I want to achieve Top 10, I want to be able to play the WTA Finals at the end of the year. Obviously, I want to win a Grand Slam," said Leylah Fernandez.
“But I define success as me enjoying the sport, enjoying my time on the tennis court. As a team, we don’t want to lose that happiness working together. We want to keep that smile, keep that joy for the sport and then finish the year healthy, physically, mentally, and also emotionally. That’s success for me," added the Canadian.
Leylah Fernandez to lock horns with Iga Swiatek in the second round of the Adelaide International
Leylah Fernandez got her 2022 season off to the perfect start, posting a comfortable victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of the 2022 Adelaide International.
The 19-year-old Canadian dominated the entire match and gave Alexandrova absolutely no chance of bouncing back after taking an early lead. The final scoreline of the match was 6-3, 6-4.
After her first-round win, Leylah Fernandez will next encounter Iga Swiatek in the second round of the tournament on Thursday. The Polish player also enjoyed a phenomenal start as she defeated Daria Saville in straight sets in the first round.
This will be the first time Fernandez and Swiatek will be crossing paths on the WTA tour.
Apart from playing in the singles category, Leylah Fernandez will team up with Erin Routliffe to play doubles. Their first-round match is against the Chinese pair of Yang Zhaoxuan and Xu Yifan.
