Canada fell out of contention for the 2020 Fed Cup Finals after its 3-1 qualifying-round loss to Switzerland on Saturday — but not before teenager Leylah Annie Fernandez defeated world No. 5 Belinda Bencic in a shocking upset.
The Canadians went 0-2 in the first day of team-based qualifying matches, making Fernandez's victory in the first match of the day imperative to keeping her team's hopes alive. She delivered by defeating Bencic 6-2, 7-6(3), holding steady through a difficult second set. The win served as Fernandez's first-ever at the Fed Cup and a massive confidence boost after beating an opponent 180 places ahead of her in the WTA rankings.
"I was more aggressive, I took the ball earlier, just went for my shots, enjoyed the moment playing Belinda," Fernandez said (via Tennis Canada). "Otherwise, I just had fun on the court and did my best to get a victory for the team."
SHE DOES IT 🇨🇦
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) February 8, 2020
Leylah Annie Fernandez defeats world No. 5 Belinda Bencic 6-2, 7-6(3) in Canada’s third Fed Cup rubber.
🇨🇦 1 - 2 🇨🇭 pic.twitter.com/Z7o1yiiepS
With Eugenie Bouchard still sidelined with a wrist injury suffered on Thursday, Gabriela Dabrowski took the court once more for a singles match against world No. 68 Jil Teichmann. Dabrowski noted after Friday's matches that she was out of practice playing singles matches so far this year, and she ultimately fell 3-6, 4-6 to Teichmann, ensuring Switzerland's victory. Canadian team captain Heidi El Tabakh said after the match that Dabrowski battled illness all week and played Saturday's match with strep throat.
"She gave it her all today and that’s really all I can ask for," El Tabakh said via Tennis Canada. "I know she’s disappointed and it’s really tough for her but stuff like that happens and hopefully our next side we’re going to have a group of healthy players.”
Superstar Bianca Andreescu was held out of the team's singles lineup as she continues to recover from last fall's knee injury. She was scheduled to play doubles in the rubber match alongside Dabrowski if needed, but the Swiss won before it came to that tiebreaker.
After the loss, Team Canada draws into the Fed Cup playoffs from April 17-18, with an opponent still to be determined. Switzerland, meanwhile, advances to the Fed Cup Finals in Budapest, Hungary, from April 14-19.