Leylah Fernandez reveals what Venus Williams told her after their heartbreaking doubles loss in Miami

Follow us on Google Discover

Leylah Fernandez and Venus Williams were unable to convert six match points in their doubles match at the Miami Open.

Fernandez and Williams played together at the US Open, where they were able to make an impressive run to the quarterfinals.

The pairing were supposed to reunite at Indian Wells, but an error prevented Fernandez and Williams from playing together.

However, after joining forces for the Miami Open, Fernandez made some crucial errors in the match tie-break that saw them lose from 9-4 up.

Leylah Fernandez helped by Venus Williams comments after doubles defeat

It did not appear that Williams was holding any sort of resentment to Fernandez, who she sent a message to on social media after their first round exit from the Miami Open.

Fernandez is already on to her next tournament at the Charleston Open, and after winning her opening singles match against Polina Kudermetova she spoke in her post-match press conference, where she was asked about her doubles match with Williams.

The Canadian admitted that she was heartbroken after making errors in the match, but Fernandez felt reassured by Williams’ comments to her after the match.

“I had a couple of easy shots, easy volleys, and I missed,” said Fernandez. “I was really heartbroken at the end of the match because I really wanted to end the day with a win.

“And she told me I played great, just to keep going, keep forward [and that] if we all had a time machine, we would use it, but we don’t, so just keep moving forward.

“That quote definitely helped me to kind of recharge and look at the bright side and just keep working the next day and find ways to improve.”

Leylah Fernandez suffered more doubles heartbreak in Charleston

While Fernandez has been able to bounce back in singles, she has actually suffered more doubles heartbreak at the Charleston Open.

Playing alongside former top 10 singles player and nine-time Grand Slam doubles champion Kristina Mladenovic, Fernandez lost after having match points again.

Fernandez and Mladenovic had a match point in the match tie-break, but were ultimately beaten 7-6(2), 2-6 [11-9] by the pairing of Magdalena Frech and Anna Bondar.

This signals a third consecutive doubles defeat for Fernandez, and she has also lost five of her last six doubles matches.

Despite this, Fernandez still remains in the doubles draw in Charleston, where she will play Diana Shnaider for a place in the quarterfinals.

Their head-to-head is currently even at two wins apiece, but Shnaider has won their two most recent meetings, including beating Fernandez in Adelaide earlier this year.