It was a busy day at Roland-Garros for several of Canada’s top tennis players.
In men’s singles, Félix Auger-Aliassime made quick work of Germany’s Maximilian Marterer, winning in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1 in the second round of the men’s singles tournament.
“Really happy, obviously,” was the reaction of the 23-year-old Canadian. “Knowing that it’s hot out there and that, you know, the conditions are difficult, it’s great to get a win of this kind.”
The match lasted just 63 minutes. The decisive win advances the two-time Olympian to the third round of singles play which will be held Wednesday. He’ll face fourth-seed Daniil Medvedev.
A few hours following his singles victory, Auger-Aliassime was serving up winners again, this time with Gaby Dabrowski in the first round of mixed doubles.
“Gaby has the most experience between the two of us,” he said. “She’s a great champion, doubles champion for us in Canada.”
Playing late into the night with the temperature well above 30°C, Auger-Aliassime and Dabrowski successfully staved off a second set surge by Great Britain’s Heather Watson and Joe Salisbury to win the match 7-5, 4-6, (10-3).
32 year old Dabrowski was surprised by the heat but happy with the win.
“It was really tough with the conditions. I’ve never played with it so hot and humid like that before […] I think we managed that really well. I thought we played really aggressive and that paid off in the end.”
The pair will play Americans Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon.
Leylah Annie Fernandez ends her women’s singles tennis competition at Paris 2024 with a third round loss to Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-3. The 21-year-old’s Olympic efforts has earned her a place in Canadian sport history. Fernandez is the first Canadian woman to make it to the singles third round at an Olympic Games. It’s a marked improvement from her second round showing at Tokyo 2020. Despite her historic finish, the Billie Jean King Cup 2023 champion is not satisfied.
“It was very hard, but I think it was probably one of my worst matches,” she admitted. “I think I didn’t play smart. I made too many mistakes.
“There were moments where I had the advantage or I had the opportunity to get ahead and just didn’t do enough with the ball and sometimes, I did too much with the ball.
“It’s something that we gotta fix and it’s disappointing that it had to end here in the Olympics.”
The Games aren’t over for Fernandez, though. She will be back at Roland-Garros on Wednesday for round two of women’s doubles with Dabrowski.
