Leylah Fernandez explains the ‘mistake’ she made against Coco Gauff that caused her to lose at the Australian Open

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Leylah Fernandez was looking to qualify for the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career.

Having advanced through the first two rounds of the Australian Open without too much trouble, the Canadian star faced a much trickier test as she looked to make her way into the last 16.

20-year-old star Coco Gauff awaited Fernandez in the third round, with the American yet to drop a set at this year’s tournament.

Despite her best efforts, Fernandez lost to Gauff in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, as she exited the Australian Open at the round of 32 stage for the second year running.

A match that wasn’t always as one-sided as the scoreline suggests, has left the WTA star wondering what could’ve been.

Leylah Fernandez says she made too many unforced errors in Australian Open defeat to Coco Gauff

In her post-match press conference, Fernandez revealed what went wrong during her third-round match against Gauff.

“I think I just made one too many unforced errors,” she said.

“She was just very, very consistent.”

“I started off well, the match, but then just two or three mistakes in a row cost me.

“It just gave her the confidence and it just opened up the door a little bit, and she just, I was, like, a number three in the world just barged right through.

“So it’s something I’ve got to work on and watch my match again, see what I can do better.”

Fernandez was then asked what it’s like coming up against someone with the speed and athleticism of Gauff.

“It’s interesting, I guess it just makes me think that I’ve got to hit the ball faster, earlier, or even just find the angles a little bit more.

“That just kind of motivates me to get better in training so I can do that in matches.

“I think she’s a great athlete, she gets to a lot of balls.”

The world number 29, recognizes that she could’ve done more to cause problems for Gauff during the match.

“Some of the balls where I could have finished or won the point, I made the mistake,” said Fernandez.

“So that kind of, like, takes away from what we’ve been working on.

“If I can just be a little bit more consistent on the offensive side and finish the point more decisively, I feel like it can be a closer match.

“I don’t know if I would have won, but maybe a closer match.”

Will Leylah Fernandez ever reach another Grand Slam final?

Fernandez reached the final of the US Open in 2021, losing out to British qualifier Emma Raducanu in straight sets.

It remains the only Major final either player has participated in, with the pair struggling to recover their Flushing Meadows form ever since.

Fernandez has played in 12 Grand Slam events since she made the final in New York, making it to the quarter-final stage just once.

The 22-year-old’s best performance came at the 2022 French Open, where she lost to Martina Trevisan in the last eight.

Fernandez does still show glimpses of the talent that saw her reach the final of the US Open at times but can’t quite seem to sustain it over a longer period.

Perhaps she just needs the draw to start working in her favor, as the Canadian has fallen to top-ten seeds on several occasions before the fourth round.

However, for that to be the case, she’ll need her ranking to rise and will look to get back to winning ways on the WTA Tour before too long.