Canadians Leylah Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime have advanced to the fourth round of the French Open.
Fernandez, a 19-year-old from Montreal, beat Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic of Switzerland by 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 on the Roland Garros main track on Friday.
This is the first time Fernandez, the runner-up at the 2021 U.S. Open, has advanced to the third round in Paris.
17th seed Fernández broke Bencic in match 11 of the decisive set and served the match. He had saved two seven-pointers in the first game.
“It was an amazing fight and I think today has only been about trusting my game when it mattered most,” Fernandez said. “I’m glad I was confident enough to move on and keep the game plan going.”
Fernandez then faces 20-year-old American Amanda Anisimova, who reached the Roland Garros semifinals in 2019.
TARGET | Fernández moves on to the 4th round of the French Open:
Fernández reaches the round of 16 of Roland Garros for the first time in his career
No. 17 seed Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que. Beat Switzerland’s No. 14 Belinda Bencic 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to advance to the round of 16 of the Laval Open. France.
Anisimova, the No. 27 seed, advanced when Karolina Muchova stopped playing after injuring her right ankle. Anisimova advanced 6-7 (7), 6-2, 3-0 when Muchova gave way.
Fernandez and Anisimova have only faced each other once before on the WTA Tour in Indian Wells in March, when the American abruptly withdrew after losing a second-set tiebreaker.
Anisimova eliminated four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the first round.
Fernandez said he always wants to put himself to the test with other young players on the tour.
“I think it’s great for the sport,” he said of the youth match. “We can bring more young tennis fans to enjoy the matches and we hope they can catch a tennis racket.
“I think it’s great to see that we’re all getting better every year. We keep playing against the best players in the world here and we can [hold] our own. “
The best result of a Canadian woman in the individual draw of the French Open came in 2014, when Eugenie Bouchard reached the semifinals.
In the men’s singles, 21-year-old Auger-Aliassime defeated Serbian Filip Krajinovic 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2), 7-5. Auger-Aliassime fired 16 shots in the three-hour game.
“I had a tough match ahead of me today and it was,” Auger-Aliassime said. “But at the end of the day, I was serving very well … [it] it was a great show today. “
The ninth seed, a native of Montreal, will face Spaniard Rafael Nadal, No. 5 seed. Auger-Aliassime is coached by his uncle and former Christmas coach, Toni Nadal.
TARGET | Auger-Aliassime reaches the round of 16 at Roland Garros:
Auger-Aliassime advances to the round of 16 at Roland Garros
No. 9 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal defeated Serbian Filip Krajinovic 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2), 7-5 to advance to the round of 16 of the Open of France for the first time in his career.
“I think Toni will look from a neutral position and enjoy the match,” Auger-Aliassime said. “For my part, it’s one more match and one more opportunity to try to make a good match and win. But of course it’s very difficult.”
Nadal, a 13-time French Open champion, advanced to the fourth round by beating Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
“I’m sure though [Toni] he’s working with another player, I think it’s going to be hard for him to want me to lose, ”Nadal said when asked about his uncle during a TV interview on Friday.
Djokovic records another seven-straight victory
Defending champion Novak Djokovic secured another victory in seven and will face Diego Schwartzman for a place in the quarter-finals at the French Open.
Top-ranked Djokovic beat Slovenian Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 at Court Philippe Chatrier in 1 hour and 44 minutes, the fastest of his three victories.
Schwartzman’s 0-6 record against Djokovic includes a five-set in the third round of the 2017 French Open. The Argentine is the 15th seed.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has not lost in the third round at Roland Garros since 2009.
He drank fine after throwing a racket at the crowd
A French Open player has been fined $ 10,000 for the tournament after throwing her racket and bouncing on the ground and in the stands during a match.
Irina-Camelia Begu, a 63-year-old Romanian who ranks 63rd, was cited for unsportsmanlike conduct during the third set of her victory over 30th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round on track 13.
The match was on Thursday. The fine was announced on Friday.
After losing a point, Begu walked to the sideline and threw his racquet, which flew behind the seat of referee Anis Ressaissi, landing among the spectators sitting next to the court. There were moans from the fans and a child was heard crying.
Tournament referee Remy Azemar said the team “brushed off a young spectator” who “turned out to be fine”.
In other matches:
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Former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens beat French teen Diane Parry 6-2, 6-3 to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros. The American was runner-up in 2018 after winning the title at Flushing Meadows the previous year. Stephens will play No. 23 Jil Teichmann, who advanced by defeating two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
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Last year’s third seed and semifinalist Alexander Zverev reached the fourth round by winning 7-6 (2) 6-3 7-6 (5) against American Brandon Nakashima. The German, who won Olympic gold in Tokyo last year, will be playing in the fourth round in Paris for the fifth year in a row.
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Coco Gauff reached the fourth round of the French Open by beating Kaia Kanepi. Gauff, 18, the youngest woman left in the draw, defeated Kanepi, 36, the oldest woman left, 6-3, 6-4. The young American is trying to improve on her quarterfinals at Roland Garros a year ago.