Canada sweeps Latvia to advance to Billie Jean King Cup finals
Team Canada is showing it has both the depth and the star power to compete against the world’s best at the Billie Jean King Cup.
Canada swept Latvia 4-0 in Vancouver over the weekend to advance to the final round of the tournament which will take place in November 2022.
Leylah Fernandez, the 21st ranked player on the WTA Tour, proved her rank in her two singles matches. On Friday she took down Darja Semenistaja 6-1, 6-2, before beating Daniela Vismane 6-2, 6-1 to clinch the overall victory for her team.
“Hearing the ‘Go Canada Go!’ and ‘Go Leylah!’… That’s my favourite part – the atmosphere and the energy that you guys gave me,” Fernandez said to reporters in Vancouver.
Rebecca Marino took care of business the day before with a 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 win over Daniela Vismane on Friday, and Canada’s doubles team Gabriela Dabrowski and Carol Zhao were also victorious in straight sets against Darja Semenistaja and Daniela Vismane on Saturday.
The Billie Jean King Cup Finals will be played November 8-13 at a yet-to-be-announced location.
The team was without the service of 2019 U.S. Open Champion Bianca Andreescu. She hasn’t competed since October 2021, but is set to return at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix this upcoming week in Germany.
When asked how far Team Canada could go in November, Fernandez gave a short answer:
“We can win it.”
