Canada’s Leila Fernandez was eliminated in the second round of the Abu Dhabi Open on Tuesday, losing 6-3, 6-2 to McCartney Kessler.
Fernandez, seeded sixth at the WTA 500 hard-court tournament, was broken five times in 10 opportunities and converted just one of her six break points.
The 23-year-old from Laval, Que., struggled on serve and committed eight double faults.
Fernandez recorded her only win of the season so far, defeating Chloé Paquet 6-0, 6-3 in the first round match in Abu Dhabi.
She lost in the first round of the Australian Open in Melbourne last month and lost her opening matches in warm-up matches in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Also on Tuesday, French pair Fernandez/Christina Mladenovic lost 7-5, 3-6, 10-6 to Alexandra Ila of the Philippines and Janice Jann of Indonesia in the first round doubles match.
