Fernandez Finally Reaches Australian Open Third Round; Auger-Aliassime Slips Up

Photo : Martin Sidorjak

The third time was the charm for Leylah Annie Fernandez at the Australian Open as, after falling in round two each of the last two years, the Canadian No. 1 finally advanced to the third round in Melbourne by defeating Cristina Busca of Spain in three sets.

Fernandez was one of two Canadian women victorious on Wednesday, as Gabriela Dabrowski also won her first-round doubles match. However, Félix Auger-Aliassime was on the other side of a comeback against a Spanish opponent, falling in five sets to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

After a rocky start, Fernandez settled in as the match went along. In classic fashion, she fought right to the end and broke through late, emerging with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win.

The match was largely on the Canadians racket as she had more than twice as many winners as Busca, 30 to 13, but also had 40 unforced errors to her opponent’s 25. In the end, Fernandez won just three more points than her opponent.

Self-inflicted wounds dug Fernandez into an early hole. In the opening game of the match, she double-faulted twice from 40-15 up to let Busca back into the game. After missing another chance to close, the Canadian missed a backhand to set up a break point, where Busca ripped a forehand winner to take an immediate advantage.

Despite applying pressure on the Spaniard’s serve, Fernandez’s inability to protect her own delivery cost her the opening set. She was broken again to go down 5-2 and even though she broke Busca as the Spaniard served for the set, the Canadian continued to commit costly errors and was broken for a third time in the following game to drop the opener.

Fernandez cleaned up her game in the second set and was able to hold serve largely without much fuss. Without her opponent giving anything away, Busca started to crack. At 4-4, she sent the ball long on three consecutive points to go down love-40 and a well-angled forehand by the Canadian on the second break point drew an error to put Fernandez within a game of levelling the match.

Serving out the set was the Lavalloise’s toughest test as the inconsistency that plagued her in the first set returned. A double fault followed by back-to-back backhand misses put her behind love-40 but, with a little help from the net cord, Fernandez managed to save all three break points. She then needed three set points to close out the set, but a backhand into the net from Busca finally sent the match to a decider.

The Canadian had to fend off a break point in her opening service game, eventually drawing an error at the end of a colossal rally, before turning the tables on Busca. She had a break point in the next game and then three more at 3-all. The Spaniard was able to conjure up big shots when she needed them to save all four.

At 4-all, a backhand winner from Fernandez gave her a 15-40 opening. An unfortunately timed drizzle came just before Busca stepped up to serve down double break point, causing a brief delay but not one that required the players to leave the court. On the very first point after restarting, Fernandez drew a backhand error from the Spaniard to break for a 5-4 lead. Serving for the match, she made no mistake, finishing it off on her second match point.

Fernandez will have her hands full in the third round when she takes on the in-form third seed Coco Gauff. The American won their lone previous meeting just a few weeks ago at the United Cup in straight sets.

Auger-Aliassime’s Hot Streak Ends

Félix Auger-Aliassime came into his second-round clash in Melbourne on a six-match winning streak and seemed primed to make it seven when he led Alejandro Davidovich Fokina two sets to love. But the Spaniard proved to have too much firepower to contain, eventually overwhelming the Canadian for a comeback win in five sets 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.

It is the second time in the last three majors that Auger-Aliassime has lost from two sets up and the second time at the Australian Open.

The first two sets followed similar scripts, with Auger-Aliassime going up a break but ultimately being broken back and needing a tiebreak to get through.

In the first, the Canadian broke twice but was broken back immidiately both times, eventually having to break the Spaniard when he served for the set. Auger-Aliassime managed to ride an early break to a 5-4 lead in the second set and served for it, only to be broken.

Fortunately, he played better at the business end of both breakers to take a two-set lead.

The third set was the first of the seven played between the two men at Melbourne Park that did not go to a tiebreak, although it was still decided by a thin margin. At 3-3, Auger-Aliassime played a poor game, missing a forehand approach shot to go down love-40. He proceeded to send a backhand well long to surrender what proved to be the only break of the set.

Davidovich Fokina came out flying in the fourth set. Crushing every ball in sight, the Spaniard raced out to a 4-0 lead. Even once Auger-Aliassime got on the board with a hold in the fifth game, he never came close to getting a break back. The Canadian was broken again in the final game as the match was sent to a deciding set.

Auger-Aliassime fought hard early in the fifth to try and reclaim the initiative. He pushed Davidovich Fokina to deuce in the third game and had three break points in the fifth game but was unable to get the lead. At 3-4, the Spaniard attacked on return and broke to love to set himself up to serve out the win.

Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Diallo are both still alive in the men’s singles and play their second-round matches on Thursday in Melbourne, Wednesday night in Canada.

Comeback Win for Dabrowski

Gabriela Dabrowski got her campaign in Melbourne underway on Wednesday, mounting a thrilling comeback with Erin Routliffe to advance past Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk of the United States in three sets.

The Canadian-Kiwi duo, seeded second at the Australian Open and playing their first event since winning the WTA Finals in October, got off to a slow start, dropping the opening set. After breaking in the final game of the second set, they seemed on the brink of defeat when they trailed 3-0 in the decider. But the former US Open champions turned on the jets late, winning the last six games in a row to advance with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.

It was Dabrowski’s first win on tour since going public with her 2024 cancer diagnosis in late December.

The Ottawan is also the lone Canadian playing mixed doubles, teaming up with Sander Gille of Belgium.

Tickets for the Davis Cup Qualifiers 1^st Round tie between Canada and Hungary are now on sale. Join us February 1 and 2 at IGA Stadium in Montreal, as the Canadian team begins their quest for the 2025 Davis Cup Final 8. To access tickets at early-bird pricing, click here.

Written By

Pete Borkowski