Leylah Fernandez produced one of the most dramatic turnarounds of the Stuttgart Open so far, recovering from the brink of defeat to edge Zeynep Sönmez 6–7(2), 6–1, 7–6(5) and reach the quarter-finals.
In a match defined by repeated swings and missed chances, Fernandez survived multiple deficits in the deciding set—including a double break down and three separate occasions where Sönmez served for the match—before sealing victory in a final-set tiebreak.
For long stretches, it looked like it would slip away.
Sönmez, fresh from qualifying, carried her momentum into the main draw with authority. She edged a chaotic opening set in a tiebreak after a sequence of late breaks, holding firm as Fernandez repeatedly threatened to turn the tide.
Fernandez refuses to yield in chaotic deciding set
The second set, by contrast, belonged entirely to the Canadian. Fernandez reset quickly, dominating from the baseline and racing through it 6–1 to force a decider that seemed to have swung firmly in her favour.
It didn’t stay that way.
Sönmez surged ahead early in the third, building a 5–1 lead and taking control with aggressive shot-making and timely errors drawn from Fernandez. The match appeared all but over as she moved within a game of victory—then again at 5–3, and again at 6–5.
Each time, Fernandez responded.
She clawed back one break, then another, extending rallies and forcing Sönmez into increasingly tentative finishing patterns. The Turk, who had played on despite a mid-match fall that required treatment, began to feel the strain in the closing stages as opportunities slipped away.
Even in the tiebreak, the pattern held. Sönmez moved within two points of victory, only for Fernandez to level again, capitalising on errors at precisely the right moments. When her chance came on serve, she did not hesitate, closing out the match to complete a comeback that had seemed improbable even minutes earlier.
Rybakina next
The victory sends Fernandez into a quarter-final clash with Elena Rybakina, but more immediately, it underlines a familiar trait: resilience under pressure, and a refusal to accept the direction of a match.
Three times Sönmez stood on the edge of victory. Three times Fernandez pulled her back.