Canada beat Italy in their opening tie at the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Glasgow, Scotland on Thursday. In the opening match, Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ontario, the 2019 United States Open champion, defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto 7-6, 6-3. That was followed by the most impressive display of tennis of Leylah Annie Fernandez’s career. Fernandez of Montreal, Quebec, the 2021 United States Open finalist, defeated Martina Trevisan, the 2022 French Open semifinalist, 6-0, 6-0. It was the first time in Fernandez’s career she has double bageled an opponent according to Rob Faulds of Rogers Sportsnet.
The first set was a dominant display of tennis for Fernandez. She only had two unforced errors, while Trevisan had 14. Fernandez also won 49 of the 64 total points.
Fernandez then teamed up with doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa, Ontario to beat Lucia Bronzetti and Jasmine Paolini 6-1, 6-1. Canada will next play Switzerland on Friday. Switzerland beat Italy in all three matches on Wednesday.
If Canada beats Switzerland, they will reach the semifinals on Saturday. Only once before has Canada reached the semifinals–in 1988 when the event was known as the Federation Cup. That year Canada beat South Korea, Finland, and Sweden, before losing to Czechoslovakia. The Canadian players who won matches that year were Jill Hetherington of Brampton, Ontario, and Helen Kelesi of Victoria, British Columbia.
