Felix Auger-Aliassime is familiar with the reputation of New York as the city that never sleeps. Having started late and endured a 55-minute rain delay between sets, the Montreal tennis player can certainly relate to the hustle and bustle of The Big Apple.
Auger-Aliassime, ranked third in the U.S. Open, emerged victorious in his first-round singles match on Monday night, defeating Australia’s Rinky Hijiata in a hard-fought battle that lasted three hours and 19 minutes. Despite facing challenges from his opponent, Auger-Aliassime expressed his satisfaction with the win and his advancement to the next round.
During the match, the Canadian showcased his skills with 17 aces, 48 winners, and 11 double faults, while also committing 50 unforced errors. Auger-Aliassime won 18 out of 22 service games and six out of 21 return games. He is now set to face Russian player Karen Khachanov in the next round, who secured a victory over Roman Burruchaga of Argentina in straight sets.
In other matches, Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ont., is gearing up to compete in his second-round men’s singles match against Luca Van Assche from France on Wednesday. Shapovalov triumphed over Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia in four sets, while Van Assche defeated Britain’s Cameron Norrie in a similar fashion.
Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Que., is also slated to play her second-round women’s singles match on Wednesday against Mananchaya Sawangkaew from Thailand. Fernandez secured a comfortable victory over Shuai Zhang of China in straight sets, while Sawangkaew emerged victorious against Panna Udvardy of Hungary in similar fashion.