Australian Open | Leylah Fernandez advances to third round; Auger-Alliassime eliminated

(Melbourne) Quebecer Leylah Fernandez recovered after a first set to the advantage of Spaniard Cristina Bucsa to win 3-6, 6-4 and 6-4 in the second round of the Australian Open tennis tournament , Wednesday.

Fernandez (29^e) had never made it past the second round in Melbourne. She lost to the Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in 2023, then to the American Alycia Parks last year.

Fernandez, qui a vaincu l’Ukrainienne Yuliia Starodubtseva (100^e) at the end of a first round match interrupted by rain, will now face the American Coco Gauff (no. 3), who disposed of the British Jodie Burrage (173^e) 6-3, 7-5.

In the second set as in the third, Fernandez scored a decisive break in the ninth game to take a 5-4 advantage. She forced a final set with her third set point, then ended the duel with her second match point.

This was a second duel between the two women. The Laval resident won 7-6 and 6-3 in the second round of the Paris Olympic Games tournament, played on clay, last summer.

In women’s doubles, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and her New Zealand partner Erin Routliffe, second seeds, advanced to the second round by defeating Americans Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk 4-6, 6-4 and 6-3.

Dabrowski and her teammate lost the first three games of the deciding set before winning the next six to advance to the second round.

Then, at the end of the program, Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime (29^e) let a two-set lead slip before losing 6-7 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1 and 6-3 against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after four hours and 52 minutes of play, while the dial showed 1:12 a.m. Melbourne time on Thursday morning.

Ontario’s Denis Shapovalov and Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo will play their second round match in the evening. Shapovalov will face the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (no. 16), while Diallo will meet the Russian Karen Khachanov (no. 19).