Leylah Fernandez spent two days dissecting one opponent鈥檚 game and had to pivot quickly before hitting Centre Court on home soil on Wednesday.

Fernandez was originally scheduled to face China鈥檚 Zhang Shuai in the first round of the National Bank Open at Toronto鈥檚 Sobeys Stadium, but the WTA Tour鈥檚 63rd-ranked player was scratched because of a viral illness and replaced by Japan鈥檚 Nao Hibino on short notice.

Despite a roller-coaster performance, Fernandez handled that curveball to advance and secure a spot in the second round of Canada鈥檚 national tennis championship, defeating Hibino 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.

鈥淚 found out about the change around 4:30 (p.m.),鈥� said the tournament鈥檚 15th seed, who faced Hibino some 2 1/2 hours later. 鈥淲e鈥檇 just spent a good amount, like 48 hours, of analyzing.

鈥淏ut a change of opponent happens 鈥� it鈥檚 last minute 鈥� we鈥檝e just got to go with the flow.鈥�

The 21-year-old Laval, Que., product improved to 4-1 against Hibino after the win.

Fernandez started brightly and blasted her second ace of the match to close out the first set.

She was serving for the match and two points away from victory before Hibino (No. 151) pushed back to take a nervy, back-and-forth second set 7-5 that was starting to look eerily similar to Bianca Andreescu鈥檚 meltdown some 24 hours earlier on the same surface.

鈥淭here was a big dip and I guess I gave her confidence,鈥� said Fernandez, the No. 25 player in the world. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 the one that was offensive, the aggressor 鈥� she was. That was a big difference.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a set that I would like to forget.鈥�

Fernandez, who made the third round of last year鈥檚 NBO in Montreal, settled down and went up an early break in the third set to take a 2-1 lead after digging out of a hole on serve the previous game.

The U.S. Open finalist in 2021 then broke her opponent again with a sliced drop shot for a 4-1 lead before securing a third break to seal the win.

Next up is qualifier Ashlyn Krueger (No. 82) of the U.S. in Thursday鈥檚 second round. The pair鈥檚 only head-to-head came in June on grass at the Rothesay International when the Canadian picked up an emphatic 6-2, 6-1 victory.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 play too well,鈥� Fernandez said in summarizing Wednesday鈥檚 performance. 鈥淭oo many mistakes.鈥�

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., joined her compatriot in the second round after the 19-year-old came back to defeat Russia鈥檚 Erika Andreeva 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4 in her first NBO main-draw appearance.

Stakusic, who entered the week ranked 160th, will face Taylor Townsend on Thursday.

The 71st-ranked American lost in qualifying, but earned a spot in the women鈥檚 bracket as an injury replacement before first-round opponent and No. 16 seed Dayana Yastremska retired in Tuesday鈥檚 second set with Townsend up 6-3, 3-1.

Vancouver鈥檚 Rebecca Marino, meanwhile, lost her first-round match 6-3, 6-4 to Poland鈥檚 Magda Linette on Wednesday.

In other notable action at the US$3.2-million women鈥檚 event that saw a boatload of withdrawals last week 鈥� including the top-ranked Iga Swiatek 鈥� defending champion and No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula of the U.S. beat Czechia鈥檚 Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 6-4 to advanced to the third round.

Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka of Japan defeated No. 9 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6-3, 6-1. No. 1 seed Coco Gauff of the U.S. and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will hit the court for their second-round matches Thursday.

The first Canadian to win the event in 55 years back in 2019, Andreescu was eliminated Tuesday night after the Mississauga native dropped her first-round match 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Ukraine鈥檚 Lesia Tsurenko.

Stakusic, who grew up attending the Toronto leg of the event and got a spot in the draw as a wild card, envisioned herself on this stage as a kid.

鈥淚t was really nice to see everybody cheering,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was amazing just to have the support.鈥�

Fernandez, meanwhile, will have a busy Thursday.

She鈥檚 also set to compete in doubles with younger sister Bianca in the second round against the American duo of Krueger 鈥� her singles opponent hours earlier 鈥� and Catherine Harrison.

鈥淚鈥檓 just happy that I get to share the court with her,鈥� Fernandez said of playing alongside Bianca. 鈥淗opefully, it goes well and we get to continue this adventure.鈥�

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2024.

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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press