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Leylah Fernandez advanced to the women’s third round at the Madrid Open tennis tournament Thursday, while fellow Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime won his opening-round match in the men’s competition.
Fernandez, who had a bye in the first round as the 32nd seed, defeated Russia’s Anastasia Potapova 7-5, 6-3 in 91 minutes.
The 21-year-old from Laval, Que., overcame eight double faults and broke Potapova five times on eight chances, while saving six on the nine break points she faced, to improve to 2-0 against the Russian.
Fernandez will next face eighth seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia. Jabeur is 2-0 against Fernandez, though the two have not squared off since 2021.
Montreal’s Auger-Aliassime rallied to defeat Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Auger-Aliassime, ranked 35th in the world, fired 11 aces and won 81 per cent of his first serves in a match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes on the clay surface.
The 23-year-old Canadian improved his career record to 3-2 over the 79th-ranked Nishioka.
Auger-Aliassime will face 19th-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France in the second round.
Mannarino won their only previous encounter in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters in 2023.