Janice Tjen Knocks Out Leylah Fernandez to Reach Dubai's Last 16

Janice Tjen returned to beat Leylah Fernandez in two straight sets. (Instagram @janicetjen)

JAKARTA - Indonesian women's tennis player Janice Tjen managed to defeat Canadian tennis player Leylah Fernandez, Monday, to reach the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Competing in the second round of the WTA 1000 Dubai, as reported by Antara, Janice won a straight set victory over Fernandez after a difficult start with a final score of 7-6 (5), 6-4, according to the WTA.

The first set was tight. Strong serves were the key to Fernandez's attack, but Janice played more patiently and carefully. He won 68.4 percent of the ball returns and recorded four double faults - fewer than Fernandez.

Entering the break, Janice took the lead with a score of 3-1. The US Open 2021 runner-up chased, the 23-year-old Jakarta-born tennis player kept the point gap until he successfully won the first set with a ace.

Not wanting to play long, Janice played aggressively in the second set. Armed with a strong serve, he managed to record 93.8 percent of the first serve points, and converted the only break point opportunity.

Janice finally managed to pack a victory after one hour and 43 minutes to reach the third round of the WTA 1000 Dubai.

The victory improved Janice's head-to-head record over Fernandez 2-0 after defeating the 23-year-old in the first round of the 2026 Australian Open.

Next, in the round of 16, Janice will await the winner of the second round between Czech tennis player Barbora Krejcikova or the second seed from the US Amanda Anisimova, which will take place tonight.

Previously in the opening match in Dubai, Janice managed to beat Ukrainian Dayana Yastremka with a dominant score of 6-4, 6-1.

Janice will also appear in the doubles sector by partnering with Czech tennis player Marie Bouzkova. They will face Jiang Xinyu/Ulrikke Eikeri in the first round which is scheduled for 21.30 WIB.

The Dubai tournament is Janice's third WTA 1000 event. He debuted at that level by taking advantage of a wild card at the Abu Dhabi Open earlier this month. However, he crashed out in the second round after being beaten by fifth seed Liudmila Samsonova.

The following week, Janice participated in her second WTA 1000 event in Doha, but she also stopped in the second round when facing world No. 2 top seed Iga Swiatek.