Fernandez is promoted at Wimbledon | CTV news

LONDON –

Leylah Fernandez continued as Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered a landslide first-round defeat at Wimbledon on Monday.

Fernandez, of Laval, Que., defeated Kateryna Baindl of Ukraine 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to record her first major draw win at the All England Club.

She suffered a first-round exit on her only other grass court Grand Slam appearance in 2021.

Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, seeded 11th in the men’s draw, was ousted by American lucky loser Michael Mmoh, who recorded a 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6 -4 victory.

Auger-Aliassime, playing for the first time since a first-round loss to Fabio Fognini at the French Open, had 17 aces to Mmoh’s 12 and hit 10 more winners than his opponent, but was eliminated by 64 unforced errors.

Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ontario had his match against Romania’s Radu Albot suspended due to darkness. Albot led the game 7-5, 2-2.

Fernandez, a 20-year-old southpaw, won only 65 percent of her first serve points, but broke 29-year-old Baindl’s serve six times en route to victory.

The Canadian, ranked 95th in the world entering the tournament, faces a tough match against No. 5 Caroline Garcia of France in the next round.

Mmoh took advantage of consistent service play to win his first career match against Auger-Aliassime.

The American was accurate on 71 percent of his first services and won 82 percent of first service points, compared to 60 percent and 80 percent for Auger-Aliassime.

Auger-Aliassime fell to 13-11 this season, a stark contrast to a 2022 campaign that saw him win four ATP Tour titles, climb to sixth in the world rankings and lead Canada to its first-ever Davis Cup title.

He lost in the first round of Wimbledon for the second year in a row after reaching the quarterfinals in 2021.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 3, 2023.