Filipino-Canadian Leylah Fernandez advances in Australian Open 2nd round

MELBOURNE: Filipino Canadian Leylah Fernandez bucked a slow start to beat Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (5), 6-2 to advance to the second round of the 2024 Australian Open on Sunday.

Fernandez, who represents Canada, will face American Alycia Parks who defeated qualifier Daria Snigur of Ukraine 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Fourth seed Jannik Sinner fired up his bid for a maiden Grand Slam title with a hard-fought straight-sets victory over Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the men’s division.

Filipino Canadian Leylah Fernandez serves against Czech Republic’s Sara Bejlek during their women’s singles match on Day One of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. AFP PHOTO

The 22-year-old Italian enjoyed a breakthrough 2023, winning his first Masters title, in Toronto, and making the championship match against Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals.

It sparked expectations that it is only a matter of time before he wins a major and he came through a tough encounter at Melbourne Park to open his 2024 account, beating the 59th-ranked Dutchman 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena.

“My first match of the season and it means a lot to start off with a win,” said Sinner, who reached his first Slam semifinal at Wimbledon last year.

“The tournament is one where I would like to play as good as possible and hopefully I can show some more in the next round.

“Physically I feel good in good shape, the first round is never easy so I can be happy with today.”

It was Sinner’s first competitive match of the year after he opted against a warm-up tournament but he showed few signs of rust, breaking Van de Zandschulp’s opening service game and powering through the first set in 46 minutes.