Canadians Auger-Aliassime, Fernandez into 2nd round at Mexican Open

ACAPULCO, Mexico — Canadian teenagers Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Annie Fernandez are both through to the second round of the Mexican Open.

Auger-Aliassime of Montreal downed Australian Alex Bolt 6-3, 7-6 (5) in his first-round matchup Tuesday while Fernandez, from Laval, Que., beat Nina Stojanovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-1 to advance.

The 19-year-old Auger-Aliassime, ranked No. 19 in the world, is the fourth seed at the ATP 500-level tournament. He fired 10 aces and won 80 per cent of his first-service points to beat the 137th-ranked Bolt in one hour 37 minutes.

Auger-Aliassime, who is still looking for his first ATP title, was coming off a runner-up finish to Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in Marseille, France over the weekend. That was the fifth ATP final appearance of his career.

The 17-year-old Fernandez, No. 190 on the WTA rankings, needed just one hour 11 minutes to dispatch her 82nd-ranked opponent.

Fernandez converted 5-of-5 break points and saved 1-of-3 of her own.

 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2020.

The Canadian Press

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