GLASGOW, United Kingdom – The days go by and they are not the same for Leylah Annie Fernandez. The Quebecer lost 6-0, 7-5 to Belinda Bencic on Friday, giving Switzerland an unassailable 2-0 lead over Canada in the group stage of the Billie Jean King Cup.

Switzerland thus qualified for the semifinals of the team competition in women’s tennis. There they meet the Czech Republic. Canada, for its part, is eliminated. A disappointing result, admitted the captain of the Canadian team, Sylvain Bruneau.

“Switzerland are a very good team and we knew it was going to be a very big challenge. But the chances, the opportunities presented themselves, and it could have gone either way. Leylah has already played against Bencic and won twice, so it was definitely possible. And Bianca (Andreescu) too. And in doubles we had one of the best teams in the tournament,” Bruneau said in a video conference after the game.

“So it’s disappointing, very disappointing,” he added.

It has to be said that the assignment was tough for 20-year-old Lavalloise, who played the second singles game of the day. She still faced the best player of the Swiss team in Bencic, ranked 12th in the world.

Bencic also won the first set in 25 minutes, winning the first seven games of the match to quickly take control 6-0, 1-0.

A start to the game reminiscent of Fernandez the day before, when she downright humiliated Italy’s Martina Trevisan 6-0, 6-0 in just under 44 minutes.

Fernandez, ranked 40th in the world, finally got going in the eighth game of the game by grabbing the break, her first of the game, then the two players held to tie 4-4 in the second set. They then traded three straight breaks in Bencic’s favor 6-5.

The 25-year-old finally sealed the outcome of the game in her next service game after an hour and 29 minutes of play.

It was Fernandez’s second defeat in three matches this season against Bencic, after those at the French Open and the Guadalajara tournament. When asked if she was up against another rival in a team competition this time, the Quebecois assured that she wasn’t.

“I didn’t see any difference. Belinda fights for every point, every game, in every tournament. I knew it was going to be a complicated game and I think it was a few points here and there that made the difference… Belinda played very well,” concluded Fernandez.

Fernandez returned to the court late in the day with teammate Gabriela Dabrowski for a doubles match against Jil Teichmann and Simona Waltert. A duel without real meaning, which they nevertheless won 6:2, 6:1.

A rocking match

Bianca Andreescu failed to orchestrate an unstoppable comeback en route to a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to Viktorija Golubic earlier in the day. Switzerland then took over the duel 1-0.

“I fought well but she played fantastic. I was the aggressor in the first set, then she burst into flames in the second and third sets. (…) I felt like I needed to do more, but when I tried to do more, she resisted without flinching. It was a bumpy day. I could have played better, but at least I fought well,” Andreescu said in a video conference after the game.

“It’s disappointing (as a result) but that’s it,” she added.

Andreescu, 45th player in the world, had started the game on the right foot, only after that she couldn’t maintain her level of play against the 77th racquet in the world and started committing a lot of unforced errors on the forehand. The game, presented at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, ended after two hours and eight minutes of play.

The 2019 US Open winner’s condition could be a cause for concern as she sought therapist intervention to get her right thigh treated while shooting back 2-5 in the third inning.

That break seemed to give the Canadian a slight shock, who immediately stole Golubic’s serve to close the gap to 3-5. Andreescu then won her serve point, but her 30-year-old rival sealed the match in the next game to give Switzerland victory.

Andreescu therefore failed to repeat her performance from the previous day as she was faced with a late 2-5 set point in the opener before beating Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto 7-6 (3) 6-3.

Canada had beaten Italy 3-0 the day before in their first match of the group stage at the Billie Jean King Cup, a women’s tennis team tournament.