Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Annie Fernandez reach the second round of the 2024 Australian Open

Felix Auger-Aliassime (Hameltion, Wikimedia Commons)

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Annie Fernandez of Montreal, Quebec have both reached the second round of the 2024 Australian Open. Fernandez, the 32nd seed on the women’s side, beat Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic, 7-6, 6-2 on Saturday evening in Canada (Sunday morning in Melbourne). Auger-Aliassime, seeded 27th, beat Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-3, 7-5, 6-7, 5-7, 6-3 on Monday.

Fernandez broke Bejlek four times. The Canadian won 7-5 in the first set tiebreak. Bejlek made a forehand and backhand error with the match tied at five points each in the tiebreak. A key statistic in the match were winners, as Fernandez had 27 and Bejlek had only 17.

Fernandez will next play Alycia Parks of the United States in the second round on Tuesday evening in Canada (Wednesday morning in Melbourne). This will be their first ever meeting head-to-head.

Auger-Aliassime should have an immense amount of confidence as he defeated a grand slam champion. Thiem won the 2010 United States Open, as he beat Alexander Zverev of Germany, 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6. On Monday, Auger-Aliassime won a marathon match that lasted four hours and 59 minutes. Auger-Aliassime had a chance to win in straight sets, but had a key double fault and unforced error in the third set tiebreak. However, it was Thiem who had the most unforced errors in the match as he had 66 compared to 53 for Auger-Aliassime.

Next up for Auger-Aliassime in the second round is Hugo Grenier of France. This will be their first meeting head-to-head.

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