Canada's Auger-Aliassime, Fernandez into second round at Cincinnati Open
After disappointing showings at their national championships, Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez rebounded with first-round wins Wednesday at the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament.
Montreal's Auger-Aliassime cruised into the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 win over American qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic.
Fernandez, form Laval, Que., was down a set and behind an early break before rebounding to beat China's Yuan Yue 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Both players stumbled in singles competition at last week's National Bank Open tournaments in Montreal and Toronto after returning to North America from the Paris Olympics.
Auger-Aliassime lost 6-3, 6-2 to Italy's Flavio Cobolli in the first round of the Montreal tournament. Fernandez made it to the second round in Toronto before being defeated 6-4, 6-2 by American qualifier Ashlyn Krueger.
That followed an eventful Paris Olympics for both players, particularly Auger-Aliassime. The 24-year-old won mixed-doubles bronze with Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski while also advancing to the bronze-medal match of the men's singles competition before losing a tough three-set match to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti.
Fernandez advanced to the third round of the women's singles tournament in Paris.
On Wednesday, Auger-Aliassime picked up his fifth break of Kovacevic to go up 5-1 in the second set then served out for the win by converting his first match point.
Auger-Aliassime will next face Norway's Casper Ruud in the second round of the tournament, which is a Masters event on the ATP Tour and a WTA 1000 event on the women's tour.
The two last faced each other in the men's singles quarterfinals at the Olympics, with Auger-Aliassime winning 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.
Fernandez came back with a solid third set against Yuan in which she converted 14-of-21 first-serve points, including two aces, and scored a pair of breaks.
She will next face fourth seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan. It will be the first meeting between the players.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Aug. 14, 2024
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Beautiful in its own way': New forest emerges in Jasper National Park, bringing protection and new opportunities
Charred stumps and the remains of fire-ravaged trees still cover large tracts of land on the Jasper landscape, but life is returning quickly down below.
Bloc Quebecois ready to extract gains for Quebec in exchange for supporting Liberals
The Bloc Québécois says its ready to wheel and deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's party for support during confidence votes now that the Liberal government's confidence and supply agreement with the NDP has ended.
Dog mauled to death in B.C. yard after 3 pit bulls jump fence: police
A 12-year-old collie was killed by three pit bulls in the B.C. Interior Sunday morning, according to authorities.
video ‘Not checking out yet’: Woman with incurable cancer vows to keep fighting
Heather Appleton just renewed her passport for another ten years. “I’m not checking out yet,” said Appleton, 61, who has the incurable cancer, Multiple Myeloma.
Trump threatens to jail adversaries in escalating rhetoric ahead of pivotal debate
With just days to go before his first and likely only debate against U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris, former U.S. president Donald Trump posted a warning on his social media site threatening to jail those “involved in unscrupulous behavior” this election, which he said would be under intense scrutiny.
'It's morally wrong': A rural Alberta town reacts to homeless shelter closure
At the end of a side street in Slave Lake, Alta., Lynn Bowes looks at a grey job-site trailer with boarded-up windows and doors that once operated as her town's only homeless shelter.
Over 200 firearms seized in weapons investigation: Waterloo Regional Police
According to police, during a traffic stop in Waterloo, officers noticed firearms and ammunition inside the vehicle.
Military surplus store in Calgary, destination of celebrity shoppers, closing doors
Cher, Anthony Hopkins, Heath Ledger, Alec Baldwin and Tom Hardy are just a few of the celebrities John Cumming met while growing up in his family's military surplus store.
Slide over salsa: K-pop takes socialist Cuba by storm
Socialist Cuba, the birthplace of salsa and other rhythms that have conquered the world, is now surrendering to the invasion of South Korean pop music.