Leylah Annie Fernandez won her second round match at the Australian Open on Wednesday in Melbourne against Spaniard Cristina Bucsa. She will face the American Coco Gauff in the next round.
The 22-year-old Canadian, 30th seed, won in three sets of 3-6, 6-4 and 6-4.
Fernandez had never gone further than the second round at the Australian Open. She lost at this stage last year in 2024 and 2023.
In the second and third sets, she escaped with a break of serve in the ninth game, when the score was 4-4.
She won on her second match point.
Gauff, 3rd favorite, got the better of Briton Jordie Burrage 6-3 and 7-5 on the court of the Rod Laver Arena, the main venue for the first grand slam of the season.
Gauff beat Fernandez last December at the United Cup in two quick sets of 6-3, 6-2.
Victory for Dabrowski and Routliffe in doubles
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 next stage.
Earlier in the day, the double title holder, Aryna Sabalenka, also qualified for the third round with a victory over the Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
At Rod Laver Arena, the 26-year-old Belarusian, first in the world rankings, won 6-3, 7-5. She thus recorded a 16th victory in a row on the central court of the Australian major.
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Aryna Sabalenka qualified for the 3rd round on Wednesday in Melbourne.
Photo : Getty Images / Graham Denholm
She will face the Danish Clara Tauson, 42nd in the world, who has just won the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland, for a place in the round of 16.
Sabalenka struggled early in the match, losing two service games before finding her rhythm.
Other 2nd round results:
- Jessica Pegula (USA/no 7) bat Elise Mertens (BEL) 6-4, 6-2
- Belinda Bencic (SUI) beat Suzan Lamens (NED) 6-1, 7-6 (7/3)
- Clara Tauson (DEN) beat Tatjana Maria (GER) 6-2, 6-2
- Olga Danilovic (SER) bat Liudmila Samsonova (RUS/no 25) 6-1, 6-2
- Magdalena Frech (POL/no 23) bat Anna Blinkova (RUS) 0-6, 6-0, 6-2
- Mirra Andreeva (RUS/no 14) bat Moyuka Uchijima (JAP) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10/8)
- Naomi Osaka (JAP) bat Karolina Muchova (CZE/no 20) 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS/no 27) bat Anastasia Potapova (RUS) 7-6 (7/2), 2-6, 6-2
- Donna Vekic (CRO/no 18) bat Harriet Dart (GBR) 4-6, 6-0, 6-2
Trailing in the second set, the Belarusian won five games in a row to end the debate.
Winner of the WTA 500 in Brisbane at the beginning of January, Sabalenka scored a seventh victory since the start of the season.
If she continues this momentum, she could become the first player since Martina Hingis (1997-1999) to win the Australian Open three years in a row.
Siegemund cause la surprise
In the other second round matches, German Laura Siegemund surprised Zheng Qinwen, 5th seed, in two sets of 7-6 (7/3) and 6-3.
The 22-year-old Chinese was a finalist last year and was a singles gold medalist at the Paris Games.
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The Chinese Qinwen Zheng was slowed down in the second round by the German Laura Siegemund.
Photo : Getty Images / Daniel Pockett
Defeated after a 2 hour 15 minute fight, Zheng played her first tournament of the season. In 2024, the year in which she revealed herself, she was eliminated in the third round at Roland Garros, in the first round at Wimbledon and in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.
She came very close to victory at the WTA Finals in November, narrowly beaten by Gauff after a battle lasting almost four hours.
At 36 years old, Siegemund picked up the 11th victory of her career on Wednesday against a top 10 player.
