Two Canadian women won their first round matches at the 2022 National Bank Open in Toronto, Ontario. On Monday, Leylah Annie Fernandez, the 13th seed of Montreal, Quebec beat Storm Sanders of Australia 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. Then on Tuesday, Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ontario knocked out the 11th seed and French Open semifinalist, Daria Kasatkina of Russia, 7-6, 6-4.
The win for Fernandez was significant because it was her first career win at the National Bank Open. Remember, even though she made the U.S. Open Final last year, she lost to Harriet Dart of Great Britain in the first round of the National Bank Open in Montreal, 7-5, 7-6. In Fernandez’s win over Sanders, she capitalized on her break point opportunities. Fernandez broke Sanders four times, while Sanders only broke Fernandez once.
Double faults were the major story in the Andreescu match. Kasatkina had zero aces and seven double faults.
In round two, Andreescu will face Alize Cornet of France. Fernandez will face Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil. Andreescu is 0-2 against Cornet, as Cornet beat Andreescu twice in 2021–in the first round of Wimbledon 6-2, 6-1, and the second round of the Betti Open in Berlin, 7-6, 7-5. Fernandez has beaten Haddad Maia once before. That came in the semifinals (6-1, 6-4) of the 2022 Monterrey Open tournament, a tournament where Fernandez won the title.
On the men’s side in Montreal, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal is the only Canadian left in singles. He is seeded sixth and got a bye to the second round. He will face Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan. Nishioka has won two of three prior meetings.