French Open: Leylah Fernandez downs Belinda Bencic in fiery third-round epic after umpire row

Leylah Fernandez defeated a furious Belinda Bencic 7-5 3-6 7-5 in the third round of the French Open in a fractious three-hour match-up. Fernandez was able to take the first set as the players battled to 5-5 with the set evenly balanced, but the Canadian was able to push home and go 1-0 up against her experienced rival.

Ad/> Bencic is ranked 15th in the world and Fernandez 17th, so a tight match-up had been on the cards. /> Roland-Garros'You have to be fair!' — Furious Bencic rows with umpire over time violation2 HOURS AGO The Swiss had reached the third round with a win over another Canadian, Bianca Andreescu, while Fernandez had defeated Katerina Siniakova.

Bencic was furious with the umpire when she was warned for a time violation, failing to meet her opponent’s pace on her serve. Facing down the official, Bencic said: “Just because she’s [Fernandez] playing in 10 seconds, I don’t have to be ready after 10 seconds, I have 15 seconds left.

“Do you think I can be ready in 10 seconds in this huge stadium? Do you want to explain to me why she is playing in 10 seconds? “You cannot be stressing players like this. What option? 'I expect much better from myself' — Halep's coach apologises after her shock exit Heartbreak for tearful Muchova as ankle injury ends French Open campaign 'He's back!' — Why McEnroe is picking Djokovic over Nadal to win French Open “I went to the towel once in the game, one time, I’m not going to the towel every point.

You have to be fair now, you have to be fair. “The time is something but the brain is something else.” /> That appeared to inspire her as she broke to go 2-1 up, and she maintained her superiority to go 5-3 up in pursuit of a levelling second set before breaking again to set up a