Unseeded Italian Martina Trevisan advanced to the French Open semi-finals with a 6-2 6-7(3) 6-3 loss to Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez on Tuesday.
Trevisan had all the answers as she dominated most of the game against an under-par Fernandez who struggled to repeat the form that took her to the US Open final last year.
🚨 Limited time offer | Express Premium with ad-lite for only Rs 2/day 👉🏽 Click here to subscribe 🚨
The world number 59 could have won in straight sets but faltered serving for the match at 5-4 in the second as fellow southpaw Fernandez dug deep to stay in the competition.
The best of Express Premium
Prime
Prime
Prime😃🇮🇹#Roland Garros pic.twitter.com/o5zJoGMraU
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 31, 2022
Fernandez comfortably claimed the tiebreaker to become the first player to take a set out of Treviso at Roland Garros this year, but that was to prove only a brief respite.
Moment of a lifetime 🙌@MartinaTrevisa3 becomes the first Italian to reach the semi-finals in Paris since Errani in 2013, beating Fernandez 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3#Roland Garros pic.twitter.com/R1eESUGQjR
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 31, 2022
Trevisan took a 3-0 lead in the deciding set and won a hard-fought fourth game to earn a double break.
Fernandez, who was treated for a foot injury in the first set, was never going to go easy and broke serve twice herself to come back at 3-5.
Nerves were evident as Trevisan served again for the match, but this time she wouldn’t be disallowed as she claimed victory with an angled forehand cross.
