Leylah Fernandez eliminated in the second round

(Melbourne) There are no more Canadians in the women’s singles draw at the Australian Open.

Leylah Fernandez lost in the second round on Thursday as fourth-seeded Caroline Garcia prevailed 7-6(5), 7-5.

“I had to make a lot of adjustments. She was playing very fast, and pushed me quite a bit with her forehand,” Garcia said of the 20-year-old Quebecer.

“Today, this match was going to turn in favor of who was going to be more aggressive, and play the most inside the lines”, she added.

Garcia had 11 aces against 2021 US Open runner-up Fernandez.

The Frenchman broke the Canadian at zero to take the lead 6-5 in the second set.

In the deciding game, the winner’s only misstep was a double fault. Fernandez sent two balls off target to the flanks and conceded two points on powerful serves.

It was the first encounter between Fernandez and Garcia, who outshot winners 40-18.

“I really feel like I stole the first set,” admitted Garcia.

” She [Fernandez] was aggressive the whole game, and I was obviously not able to establish my rhythm. I just tried to take it one point at a time, stay in the moment, and that was really important to me,” she added.

Garcia won the WTA Finals in November in Texas.

In the third round, she will face Laura Siegemund, 158^e world player. The 34-year-old German caused an upset by dismissing Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, 27^e seeded, 5-7, 7-5 and 6-3.

“It’s a surprise to find her in the third round. But she is a fighter,” Garcia said of Siegemund.

“She can drive you crazy with her drop shots, serve and volleys. I will have to focus on my serve, my game. We are in the third round of a Grand Slam tournament, it will be difficult and I will prepare as best I can,” concluded Garcia.

Sixth-seeded Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime will face Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo, 30, on Friday.^e in the world. For his part, Ontario’s Denis Shapovalov, 20^e seeded, will be challenged by Hubert Hurkacz, 10^e Headlining.

World No. 2 Ons Jabeur eliminated in the second round

Ons Jabeur, world No. 2 and finalist at the last Wimbledon and United States Open, was eliminated in the second round by Czech Marketa Vondrousova (86^e) 6-1, 5-7, 6-1, Thursday in Melbourne.

The Tunisian, who had become the first Arab player to reach the quarter-finals of a Major, in Melbourne in 2020, seemed to suffer during the match (50 unforced errors committed).

Last year, she missed the Australian Major due to a back injury.

As for Vondrousova, she will face in the next round her young compatriot Linda Fruhvirtova (82^e) who, at the age of 17, is participating in his first main draw of a Grand Slam tournament.