Fernandez, Auger-Aliassime, Nadal pick up victories at Madrid Open
Canada's Leylah Fernandez to play 2nd-round match later Thursday
Leylah Fernandez advanced to the women's third round at the Madrid Open tennis tournament Thursday, while fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime won his opening-round match in the men's competition.
Fernandez, who had a bye in the first round as the 32nd seed, defeated Russia's Anastasia Potapova 7-5, 6-3 in 91 minutes.
The 21-year-old from Laval, Que., overcame eight double faults and broke Potapova five times on eight chances, while saving six on the nine break points she faced, to improve to 2-0 against the Russian.
Fernandez will next face eighth seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia. Jabeur is 2-0 against Fernandez, though the two have not squared off since 2021.
WATCH | Fernandez downs Potapova:
Montreal's Auger-Aliassime rallied to defeat Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Auger-Aliassime, ranked 35th in the world, fired 11 aces and won 81 per cent of his first serves in a match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes on the clay surface.
The 23-year-old Canadian improved his career record to 3-2 over the 79th-ranked Nishioka.
Auger-Aliassime will face 19th-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France in the second round.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime downs Nishioka:
Mannarino won their only previous encounter in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters in 2023.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal didn't need much effort as he cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over American teenager Darwin Blanch in the first round.
Nadal looked in good form in what was only his third match since returning from his latest injury layoff. He had made his return in Barcelona last week, losing to Alex De Minaur in the second round.
The 37-year-old Nadal had arrived in Madrid saying he was not 100 per cent fit, and that he was only going to play because the tournament was at home.
On Wednesday, Nadal said that in his current condition he would not play if this was the French Open.
