BILLIE JEAN KING CUP

November 9, 2023

Leylah Fernandez

Team Canada

Press Conference

L. FERNANDEZ/M. Linette

6-2, 6-3

Team Canada - 2

Team Poland - 0

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Leylah.

Q. This week just keeps getting better and better for Canada. You all must be absolutely thrilled with what's unfolded the last two nights?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, no, we're extremely proud, excited, ecstatic with the way we are playing and the team chemistry.

You know, we have a bunch of people here, the support staff and the board members and everybody from Tennis Canada that's here in the stands cheering for us. That has definitely made the difference in both ties that we have played yesterday and today.

We were able to come in with confidence and finish with confidence, and that's what we wanted. I'm just super happy, again, with the team chemistry and the way that we just keep having fun on court and keep getting better day by day.

Q. By reaching the semifinals, it's the first time Canada have done that since 1988, before you were born, actually the second time in history you have reached the semis. What's it like to be part of a team that's, I suppose, made history, but also done something that no other Canada team has done for, like, three decades?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: It means the world to me. It means the world to us. I'm extremely proud to be representing Canada on court. To be in a semifinals at the World Cup of Tennis, it means that Canada is going up in tennis and that we are producing a lot of great tennis players and that we, every single year, we just keep improving, learning from our mistakes and just keep going and wanting the best for the players.

We just want what the men was able to do, which was win the Davis Cup. For us to win the Billie Jean King Cup would be a dream.

Q. I wanted to ask you if you remember what the kits looked like in 1988 and what you think about them? You might not have seen them, but they are on social media already.

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: I unfortunately have not opened social media or anything.

Q. Good.

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, can't answer that question.

Q. Your match looked so easy. Are you surprised that it was so fast match?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: You know, it was not an easy match. Definitely a lot of nerves. There was a lot of deuce games, a lot of long deuce games. It could have gone either way.

You know, that first game in the first set, if she would have won that game, it could have been a completely different match. Or if she would have broken me in the second game and made it 1-All, it could have been a completely different match.

We never know. I was just super happy with the way I was able to stay calm in those tough moments and get the games that needed to be won so that I can get an advantage.

Every time I have played against Magda it's been a battle, so I just knew from the very beginning it was going to be that. I don't think it was actually that short of a match. It was longer. Maybe shorter than yesterday, but it was still a long match, considering that it was a two-sets, 6-2, 6-3, still almost two hours.

When you look at it that way, it was definitely a hard match emotionally, mentally, and especially physically.

Q. Congrats. I want to ask you about the tie against Magda. It was fourth match against for Magdalena and fourth win for you. I asked her is there anything in your tennis that she doesn't like? She said it's not about you; it's probably about her, that you like her style of play. Is that true?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: You know, it's probably that. You know, like I said, every single time I play against Magda it's been three sets. Today I was just glad that I was able to get it in two. But again, it was a tough match.

Today I was just able to execute my game plan a lot better than the other times. I was able to take advantage of the point a lot earlier than the other times.

So today was basically one of my better matches that I have played against her. I'm glad that it came into a very important tie against Poland for Team Canada.

I don't know if her game is perfect for me, but, you know, every single time we do play against each other, I do know it's been a battle. It's been over two hours, been almost three hours, always three sets. It's just never easy to play against her.