CINCINNATI — Canada’s Leylah Fernandez and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva lost 3-6, 6-1, 10-4 to American Asia Muhammad and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe in the women’s doubles final at the Cincinnati Open on Sunday.
Fernandez and Putintseva won 61.8 per cent of their first-serve points while their opponents won 74.3 per cent in the 80-minute match.
The third-seeded Routliffe and Muhammad hit three aces with five double faults. Fernandez and Putintseva committed three double faults without an ace.
Routliffe was born in New Zealand to Canadian parents and represented Canada until switching allegiances in 2017. The 29-year-old is the world No. 1 in women’s doubles.
Fernandez, a 21-year-old from Laval, Que., suffered a 7-5, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (3) singles defeat at the hands of American Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The match lasted three hours and four minutes.
Fernandez is scheduled to take on Romania’s Ana Bogdan at the Tennis in the Land tournament on Tuesday in Cleveland.
The WTA 250 event is the final tune-up for the U.S. Open, the last Grand Slam of the year.
