A pair of Quebeckers rolled into the next round at the Mutua Madrid Open as Leylah Annie Fernandez and Félix Auger-Aliassime were in the win column on Saturday.
Fernandez earned her biggest win of the year so far after coming back from a set down to defeat world No. 16 Iva Jovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the Mutua Madrid Open third round on Saturday.
After impressing in Stuttgart with a three-hour battle against Elena Rybakina in the quarters, Fernandez brought out that same level in her Madrid round-three win. The 23-year-old from Laval was as efficient as can be on break point, converting on all five of her opportunities. Despite being broken three times, the world No. 25 immediately broke back on all but one occasion as she completed the comeback in convincing fashion.
Both players had to work themselves out of some tight holds to begin the match as three of the first four games needed deuce. Jovic was soon in an ideal spot to break the deadlock at 2-3, love-40, forcing the loss of serve on the second attempt and the American No. 4 cruised on serve from there.
At 4-2, 30-all, the 18-year-old strung together six-straight points behind her serve, clinching the opening set.
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Undeterred, Fernandez was at her best in the second. The Canadian was much more aggressive in the set, eventually being paid off with a first break opportunity at 1-2, 15-40. The 23-year-old wrong footed Jovic with a backhand winner to go 3-1 to the good.
The players traded breaks following the fourth game as Fernandez still managed to maintain her advantage, leading 4-2. The Lavalloise held to love in the seventh then served out the set at 5-3, forcing a decider.
The start to the third set was virtually all Fernandez. At 0-1, the Canuck won 12 points on the bounce to put her in the driver’s seat early, up 3-1. A seemingly comfortable hold for Jovic at 1-3, 40-love, turned into a chance for Fernandez to take a double-break lead after winning the next four rallies. The Canadian went on the attack and finished off the point with a swinging-forehand volley as her lead grew to 4-1.
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Like the second set, Fernandez was broken back but remained unfazed, breaking Jovic for the third-straight time to gain the opportunity to serve for the match. At 5-2, 40-30, she capped off the match in appropriate fashion, finding the line for a forehand winner.
Fernandez is through to the Madrid fourth round for the first time, where she will battle another American seed in Ann Li (No. 31) on Monday.
Auger-Aliassime Cruises in Madrid Opener
Félix Auger-Aliassime opened the Mutua Madrid Open with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Lithuanian qualifier Vilius Gaubas on Saturday.
The Canadian No. 1 served brilliantly throughout the match, winning 91 per cent of his first-serve points while not facing a single break point. The 25-year-old from Montreal kept his unforced errors to a minimum with 11 and finished the contest with a match-best 19 winners.
Auger-Aliassime was dominant on his delivery right from the opening game of the match, capping a love hold with one of his seven aces on the day. A break in the sixth game was all the Canadian needed to comfortably seal the first set as he conceded just two points behind his serve, taking the opener in an efficient 34 minutes.
The second was much of the same from Auger-Aliassime. The world No. 5 this time piled the pressure early, holding double break point at 1-1, 15-40. However, Gaubas served well and saved another break point to keep himself in the contest.
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The Lithuanian still couldn’t find his game on return as Auger-Aliassime continued to cruise. The Canuck won eight-straight service points to bring the set to 3-3, before another break opportunity came his way at 4-4, 30-40. Gaubas again managed to save but was unable to do the same later in the game, allowing Auger-Aliassime to serve for the match.
The Montrealer’s final service game ended up being the tightest of the contest. Though, at 5-4, 30-all, Auger-Aliassime fired back-to-back unreturned serves, sending the third seed through to the third round where he meets Belgian Alexander Blockx on Monday.
Shapovalov Eliminated in Madrid Second Round
Denis Shapovalov was eliminated in his Mutua Madrid Open opening match, losing 6-2, 6-1 to Nicolai Budkov Kjaer on Saturday.
The Canadian No. 2 was unable to keep his unforced errors count down, finishing the match with 27 compared to Budkov Kjaer’s rather impressive six. The Norwegian teen converted on four of his six break points on the day, two in each set en route to the win in under an hour.
After a comfortable opening service hold, Shapovalov’s errors began to snowball and put him in a tough spot early on. In the fourth game, double fault and a pair of unforced errors had him dealing with double break point at 15-40. The pressure got the best of the Richmond Hillian who committed another one of his four double faults to lose serve. The 27-year-old then tested Budkov Kjaer on his delivery, but the Norwegian was able to couple his break with a hold to lead 4-1.
Budkov Kjaer soon had the chance to end the first set on return at 2-5, 30-40, and Shapovalov conceded the opener on a double fault.
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The Norwegian didn’t take long to gain the advantage in the second, dropping just two points in the opening three games of the set to go 3-0 in front. Shapovalov picked things up when facing break point again at 0-3, 15-40, holding his nerve to get on the board.
Unfortunately for the Canadian, he went on the win just a single point the rest of the way as Budkov Kjaer took down the world No. 35 for the biggest win of his career.
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Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
