Canada’s Fernandez wins opening match at Australian Open in straight sets
It wasn’t vintage Leylah Fernandez, but the 21-year-old from Laval, Que., found a way to grind out a victory on Saturday in her opening singles match at the 15-day Australian Open.
FernandezĀ needed a tiebreaker to win the first set 7-6 (5) in an hour against 17-year-old qualifier Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic, then won the second 6-2 in 31 minutes to advance.
Fernandez finished with two aces, two double faults, one tiebreak victory and 18 unforced errors.
Racing to the finish line š<a href=”https://twitter.com/leylahfernandez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@leylahfernandez</a> starts her fortnight with a 7-6(5) 6-2 win over Bejlek.<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/AusOpen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#AusOpen</a> ā¢ <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/AO2024?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#AO2024</a> <a href=”https://t.co/KuAEiPhNHc”>pic.twitter.com/KuAEiPhNHc</a>
—@AustralianOpen
Bejlek had no aces, one double fault and 12 unforced errors.
Fernandez was good on 71 per cent of her first serves and won 33 points on the first serve. She won eight service games and four return games.
Fernandez will play the winner of the match between American Alycia Parks and qualifier Daria Snigur of Ukraine.
