​Qinwen Zheng unexpectedly dropped out of the “WTA 1000” tournament in Doha, this year’s Australian Open finalist lost to Canadian Leila Fernandez 7-5, 6-3.

Qinwen Zheng Photo: WILLIAM WEST / AFP / Profimedia

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Qinwen Zheng defeated Leila Fernandez at the WTA in Doha

The No. 5 seed in Qatar, Zheng advanced straight into the second round, where she easily cruised past Poland’s Magda Lynette 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

Leila Fernandez, a finalist at the US Open three years ago, played a near-perfect game to reach the quarterfinals in one hour and 33 minutes.

In the next round, the Canadian, who is ranked 38th in the world, will meet the winner of the matches American Emma Navarro (23 WTA) and Kazakh Elena Rybakina (4 WTA).