Cincinnati Open | Leylah Annie Fernandez beats Diana Shnaider, world number 20, in two sets of 6-1, 6-4

(Mason) Leylah Annie Fernandez beat Russian Diana Shnaider, 20^e in the world, in two sets of 6-1 and 6-4 at the Cincinnati Open, Friday.

Fernandez, 26^e at the WTA, trailed 4-1 in the second set when play was interrupted by rain.

“It is thanks to your support [les partisans] “I came back strong after that break,” she said on the court after her match. “My coaches also helped me a lot to keep the right attitude.”

Fernandez converted four of her 10 break points while firing seven aces. She also won 81 percent of the points she played on her first serve.

In the quarter-finals, the 21-year-old Quebecer will face the winner of the duel between Americans Jessica Pegula and Taylor Townsend.

For his part, Félix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the third round of the Cincinnati Open on Friday, winning 6-3 and 6-1 against the Norwegian Casper Ruud, seventh seed.

Ranked 19^e in the world, the Canadian prevailed in 67 minutes, notably by scoring the 14 aces of the match.

Auger-Aliassime dominated 5-1 for breaks, in addition to obtaining 86% of the points played on his first serves.

FAA leads their meetings 4-3, including a quarterfinal win at the Olympic Games this year.

His next rival will be Jack Draper – starting Friday night. The match between the Quebecer and Ruud was supposed to take place Thursday night, but it had to be postponed because of the rain.

In the second round, the Englishman Draper (no. 28) caused a surprise by eliminating Stefanos Tsitsipás, the ninth seed.

Gaël Monfils causes surprise

Frenchman Gaël Monfils caused a major surprise by beating Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

The duel began on Thursday evening, but was interrupted by rain with the second seed leading 6-4, 6-6 (1/3).

Monfils, 37, came out strong Friday to win the tiebreaker 7-5 and was more consistent than his opponent in the third set.

“I felt like it was the worst game I’ve ever played in my career,” Alcaraz said. “I felt good in practice. I just want to put this game behind me and move on to New York.”

It is Monfils’ first victory in more than two years against a player ranked in the top three in the world.

Monfils will also play again on Friday evening, in his case against the Dane Holger Rune, 16^e to the world.

In the women’s competition, world number one Iga Swiatek easily won 6-2, 6-2 against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.

“The result didn’t matter to me,” Swiatek said. “I just wanted to play the best I could. I focused on myself.”

Third seed Aryna Sabalenka also advanced to the next round with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.