Leylah Fernandez watched Manchester City beat Arsenal at the Etihad before heading to Madrid (Image: Instagram @leylahannietennis)
When Leylah Fernandez lost a tight three-setter to Elena Rybakina in Stuttgart last week, she didn’t head straight to the Madrid Open. Instead, the world No. 25 jetted to Manchester to watch City beat Arsenal, and boost their chances of winning the Premier League for the ninth time. The 2021 US Open runner-up, who famously lost to Emma Raducanu in that final, made a last-minute decision to fly to the Etihad and have the “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to watch Manchester City give themselves a huge advantage in the title race.
It was third time lucky for Fernandez, who had seen City live twice before, and saw them lose both games. And watching Gabriel pulling Erling Haaland’s shirt gave the Canadian some perspective before she headed to Madrid. Fernandez had blown a match point against world No. 2 Rybakina in the Stuttgart quarter-finals, but the much-needed reset helped her handily beat Julia Grabher in her opening match at the Caja Magica.
“Honestly, I thought I adjusted pretty well, especially considering, I think, this is my first time going indoor clay to altitude. So I was quite happy with how I didn’t kind of lose my head, and I honestly thought that maybe going to Manchester helped a little bit just to calm things down and kind of reset and reboot,” Fernandez said in a joint interview with Express Sport and PA.
“So coming here was kind of like a fresh start. So it felt good. I didn’t think there was anything to worry about on the first practice. It wasn’t the greatest, but it was a good kind of foundation to see where I’m at.”
While Fernandez would have liked to go deeper at the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart, her quarter-final defeat provided a silver lining, and it was her dad who suggested a quick stopover in Manchester. She continued: “It was a huge match. Of course, I wish I would have stayed longer in Stuttgart, but we were actually looking at flights from Stuttgart to Madrid first, and I was talking with my dad, and he came up with a crazy idea of, Why not just go to Manchester?
“We’re playing against our Arsenal. It’s a big match. It’s a determining match to see if Arsenal wins the league, or if we can kind of claw our way back. And I’m like, let’s do it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime for us, and we saw that I was gonna play the Thursday or Friday, so we kind of made that calculation, okay, we’ll have some time to practice, so all is good, I had enough match play, so I’m coming in with some good rhythm. And I’m just happy that we were able to make it work, and the seats were amazing, so we had a great time in Manchester, watching City win was the cherry on top.
“It’s actually my second trip [to the Etihad], and funny enough, every time that we’ve watched Manchester City play live, they have lost. And I went there, and I was like sweating, thinking, please don’t lose. If they lose a third time, I’m going to say I’m the jinx, I can’t do this, I’m not gonna do this to our team! So I think when they won, it kind of was a huge sigh of relief for myself, and then it was a big celebration at the end of the night.”
Leylah Fernandez got off to a winning start at the Madrid Open after her trip to the Etihad (Image: Getty)
Fernandez is Canadian, so her love for City is pretty rogue, but the 23-year-old explained that Pep Guardiola was the one who sparked her love for the team. “Growing up, I never really followed a team wholeheartedly, and it had always kind of been Real Madrid, because my dad followed Real Madrid, so I would watch the games with him,” she explained.
“I’ve always been like a fan of the sport. And then we kind of followed Pep, how he moved away from Barcelona, went to Bundesliga, and then he made his way to Premier League. And some of the changes that he made first on was quite shocking, and we didn’t know if it was the right move, so we started kind of following, keeping an eye on them, and then watching the show All or Nothing really kind of solidified my appreciation to what he does, and how he implemented his philosophy and his way of the game into the team and the culture of Man City. So it’s quite amazing to see the team grow over the years and then finally winning the Premier League, Champions League, and of course the treble that one year, so that was amazing.”
As for her favourite players? “Oh, man, for the longest time, it has been [Sergio] Aguero, and then he retired,” she smiled. “I do love Bernardo [Silva]. I love how, like, he just kind of moves, and dribbles the ball is so, so amazing, and a little bit of [Erling] Haaland, too. Like, it’s kind of impressive what he does with the ball, putting it in the net any which way.”
Seeing Haaland and Silva in action also reminded Fernandez to enjoy her own tennis. “It kind of gives me a sense of appreciation to what other athletes do and what they go through. I mean, I saw Haaland getting pulled, shoved, kicked right in front of me, and I’m like, thank goodness that’s not me, because I don’t know how he does it,” she said.
“So I was quite impressed, and seeing Bernardo sprinting from one end of the pitch to the other to defend, it was quite amazing. It kind of put things into perspective for myself, and, like, okay, well, if they’re able to do it, for 90 minutes straight, I can run for a yellow ball where nobody’s hitting me, and just put it in a court where my opponent isn’t.
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“So, just kind of enjoy and have fun, and seeing them smile and always give their 100 per cent kind of motivates me, too, to do the same, beause I see how the fans react to their effort, and sometimes when I’m on court, I tend to forget about what’s going on around me, and it’s good and bad, because I’m so focused, but then, at the same time, you want to take that step away, to show the fans that you truly appreciate their support, and that them coming to watch you means the world to us. There’s a big, full circle for me.”
Fernandez now has another test in Madrid, as she faces teenage sensation and 15th seed Iva Jovic for a place in the last 16. And she’s also trying to keep track of City’s title chase now they’ve gone top of the league.
The five-time title winner added: “It’s definitely hard because of the time difference. So we try to do our best to follow as much as possible. If not, we’re just watching highlights. And I know it’s horrible because it’s five minutes of a 90-minute match, which you don’t really see the ups and downs, but we’re doing what we can, and when we do have the opportunity, and as a team, we try to watch it all together. So it’s always a fun way to disconnect and just bond as a team.”
But can City do it? Fernandez certainly hopes so. “That’s what I hope. I’m crossing my fingers, and I keep following their games, so hopefully they do it, and go City!” she laughed.
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