(Paris) If Félix Auger-Aliassime was sweating after his second-round match at the Paris Olympics, it was mainly due to the oppressive heat on the Simonne-Mathieu court, and less because of the opposition offered by his opponent.
For Leylah Annie Fernandez, the beads of sweat on her face hid a few tears.
Auger-Aliassime made short work of Germany’s Maximilian Marterer, winning 6-0, 6-1 in 64 minutes in a second-round men’s singles match. Germany’s Angelique Kerber, meanwhile, won 6-4, 6-3 against Fernandez in their third-round match at Roland Garros.
The 23-year-old Quebecer played a near-perfect match, winning the first 10 games of the encounter.
The crowd got a little lively when Marterer, 116e in the world, finally registered in the second round.
Auger-Aliassime never gave his rival a break point, as was also the case in the first round against Marcos Giron, and he finally won 57 points, against 30 for Marterer.
PHOTO VIOLETA SANTOS MOURA, REUTERS
Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime
“In return, from the start, he put a lot of first serves into play, but I found a good length to neutralize him,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I was able to take control of the exchanges.”
In the third round, Auger-Aliassime, 13e seeded, will face the winner of the duel between Daniil Medvedev, no 4, and the Austrian Sebastian Ofner. This match will take place in the evening, Tuesday.
Medvedev has won each of the seven meetings between Auger-Aliassime and him so far, but they have all taken place on hard surfaces.
“For me, it would be ideal to face him here, on clay,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It would be a great place to go for a victory against him, at the Olympic Games. I will be ready to give everything for the country to go for another victory.”
Auger-Aliassime will also be in action later Tuesday in a first-round mixed doubles match with Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski. The Canadian duo will face Britons Heather Watson and Joe Salisbury.
“One of my worst matches”
Kerber announced she will hang up her racket at the end of the tournament. Fernandez was the 16th seede top seed in the women’s singles tournament. However, Kerber, who is 36, made fewer errors than her rival, who is 15 years her junior.
The holder of three major titles needed an hour and 25 minutes to win.
I’m very disappointed with the way I played. It was one of my worst matches to date. I made a lot of forced errors, a lot of unforced errors. I didn’t play a very smart match. Angie saw the door open and she went in.”
Leylah Annie Fernandez
Fernandez, who was eliminated in the second round at the 2021 Tokyo Games, hit 26 winners but committed 29 unforced errors against Kerber. The latter hammered 22 winners and made 15 unforced errors.
PHOTO MIGUEL MEDINA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez was the 16the top seed in the women’s singles tournament.
“Maybe I wanted the match too much. I wanted to hit the ball too hard instead of playing smart, playing angles and opening the court,” Fernandez analyzed. “It happens, but it’s unfortunate that it happens during the Olympics, in one of the most important tournaments.”
The two players traded breaks of serve in the third and fourth games. Fernandez saved a break point in the next game, but Kerber got her revenge in the seventh. Fernandez then volleyed into the net to give Kerber the break that made the difference.
The 21-year-old from Laval was the victim of a break in the second set and lowered her shoulders as she returned to her chair.
Serving for the match at 5-2, Kerber kept Fernandez alive by being broken herself when she double-faulted.
It was almost natural that the match would end on 10e break of service of the match. Kerber finally closed the books when Fernandez committed an unforced error.
PHOTO MIGUEL MEDINA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Angelique Kerber and Leylah Fernandez (R)
Fernandez did not win a single service game in the second set.
“I usually serve well. Today I didn’t serve very well,” Fernandez said. “It was one of my worst matches. I made too many errors on my first serve and I sent too many second serves that she could attack. Even in important points with a forehand chance, I didn’t hit well. There were a lot of things that didn’t work at the same time. I was trying to stay positive in my head, but I didn’t find the solutions today.”
Fernandez will be able to redeem herself in the women’s doubles, where she also teams up with Dabrowski. They have a date with Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara in a second-round match that should be played on Wednesday.