Canada’s Leylah Fernandez swept out of Miami Open by unseeded Muchova | CBC Sports

Fernandez entered the Miami Open as the tournament’s No. 18 seed and got a first-round bye while Muchova had to beat her countrymate Tereza Martincova to reach the round of 64.

Muchova outplayed Fernandez, particularly playing well on her first serve, winning 71.2 per cent of the points off her opener, compared to just the 58.8 per cent of points that Fernandez won on her first serve.

WATCH | Fernandez falls to Muchova:

Fernandez upset by Muchova in Miami Open 2nd round

No. 18 seed Leylah Annie Fernandez of Laval, Que., fell to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-6(3) in the second round of the Miami Open. 2:40

The 19-year-old from Laval, Que., has had a strong start to 2022, including a victory in Monterrey, Mexico, but this was her worst showing since she was eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open.

Male Canadian tennis stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov are scheduled to begin their Miami Open tournaments Friday.

Halep withdraws

Meanwhile, Simona Halep withdrew from the Miami Open ahead of her second-round match on Thursday with a leg injury that the former world No. 1 said will keep her out of action for three weeks.

The 19th-ranked Romanian Halep, who reached the semifinals at Indian Wells last week and had a first-round bye in Miami, said she felt a sharp pain in her left leg while practicing for her match with Australian wild card Daria Saville.

“I had been struggling with the thigh since my semi-final in Indian Wells and hoped it would improve, but I went for an MRI last night and unfortunately it showed a tear,” twice Grand Slam champion Halep wrote on Twitter.

“My body needs time to heal and as a result I will be out of competition for three weeks. This means I have had to make the super tough decision to pull out of Miami, Charleston and Fed Cup.”