Canada’s rising stars Leylah Fernandez, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Gabriel Diallo are advancing to the second round at Wimbledon!
Fernandez showcased her prowess with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 victory against Great Britain’s Hannah Klugman in her opening match on Monday.
The 29th seed, Fernandez, displayed dominance, striking 23 winners compared to Klugman’s 10, who is just 16 and currently ranked 573rd globally.
Hailing from Laval, Quebec, the 22-year-old converted five of her six break-point opportunities, completing the match in just one hour and nine minutes. Notably, this marks her first venture past the second round at the All England Club!
Montreal’s Auger-Aliassime pulled off a remarkable comeback, overcoming a two-sets-to-one deficit to triumph over Australia’s James Duckworth with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4.
As the 25th seed, Auger-Aliassime racked up an impressive 69 winners, although he struggled with 54 unforced errors. The 24-year-old, a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon in 2021, also launched 26 aces and capitalized on five of his 15 break-point opportunities during the thrilling three-hour and 42-minute match.
Diallo, aged 23, made a stunning debut in the Wimbledon main draw, securing a swift victory over Germany’s Daniel Altmaier with a score of 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
The native of Montreal unleashed seven aces and a total of 30 winners to Altmaier’s 15, efficiently converting six of his twelve break points.
Currently ranked a career-high No. 40, Diallo clinched his first ATP title at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, just last month.
Next on the agenda, Fernandez will face Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the second round on Wednesday, while Auger-Aliassime is set to battle Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
Diallo’s next opponent will be determined from the match between No. 5 seed Taylor Fritz of the U.S. and France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Earlier on Monday, Carson Branstine faced a disappointing end to her Grand Slam debut, losing in the first round to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus with a score of 6-1, 7-5.
Branstine, who was born in California but represents Canada thanks to her family ties in Toronto, delivered seven aces and matched Sabalenka’s 17 winners; however, 26 unforced errors hampered her performance as she could not convert her only break-point opportunity.
Nonetheless, Branstine found her groove in the second set, catching Sabalenka’s attention.
“In the first set, she didn’t serve great, but in the second, most of her serves were 120 m.p.h, which is impressive,” Sabalenka remarked. “I was fortunate to break her in one game. Tough match, tough win.”
The 23-year-old Branstine, currently ranked 194th in the world, secured her spot through an impressive run in last week’s qualifying tournament at the All England Club.
Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ont., the 27th seed, is scheduled for his clash against Argentina’s Mariano Navone on Tuesday.
