Quebec's Felix Auger-Aliassime, Leylah Fernandez open in Paris with comfortable wins

Felix Auger-Aliassime from Montreal and Leylah Fernandez from Laval won their matches at the French Open on May 27, 2024. (Jean-Francois Badias/ Rebecca Blackwell, The Associated Press)

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez posted comfortable wins in the opening round of the French Open on Monday.

Montreal's Auger-Aliassime was a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 winner over Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka.

Auger-Aliassime fired seven aces and won 84 per cent of his first serves in a match marred by two rain delays.

Fernandez, from Laval, Que., followed with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Jessika Ponchet of France.

The Canadian opened with her first of five breaks in a match that took just 69 minutes to complete.

Neither Canadian faced break point.

Auger-Aliassime, seeded 21st in Paris, will next face German qualifier Henn Squire.

The 31st-seeded Fernandez will next play China's Wang Xiyu.

Two other Canadians were scheduled to play their opening matches in Paris on Monday, including Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont. She returns to the court to face Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo in her first match in nearly 10 months after injuring her back at the National Bank Open in Montreal last August.

Also Monday, Denis Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., faces Luca Van Assche of France.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2024.