Canada's Auger-Aliassime, Fernandez both advance at Madrid Open

Felix Auger-Aliassime reacts during a match against Adam Walton, of Australia at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Rebecca Blackwell/the Canadian Press/AP)

Leylah Fernandez advanced to the women's third round at the Madrid Open tennis tournament Thursday, while fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime won his opening-round match in the men's competition.

Fernandez, who had a bye in the first round as the 32nd seed, defeated Russia's Anastasia Potapova 7-5, 6-3 in 91 minutes.

The 21-year-old from Laval, Que., overcame eight double faults and broke Potapova five times on eight chances, while saving six on the nine break points she faced, to improve to 2-0 against the Russian.

Fernandez will next face eighth seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia. Jabeur is 2-0 against Fernandez, though the two have not squared off since 2021.

Montreal's Auger-Aliassime rallied to defeat Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Auger-Aliassime, ranked 35th in the world, fired 11 aces and won 81 per cent of his first serves in a match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes on the clay surface.

The 23-year-old Canadian improved his career record to 3-2 over the 79th-ranked Nishioka.

Auger-Aliassime will face 19th-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France in the second round.

Mannarino won their only previous encounter in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters in 2023.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2024.