Canada's Leylah Fernandez notches opening round win at Australian Open
Laval, Que., native will next face Spain's Cristina Bucșa on Tuesday
It was worth the wait for Canadian Leylah Fernandez.
Fernandez defeated Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva 7-5, 6-4 in her first-round women's singles match Sunday at the Australian Open. The contest was interrupted by a rain delay Saturday with Fernandez leading 5-3 in the opening set.
The 30th-seeded Fernandez, of Montreal, faces Spain's Cristina Bucsa in second-round action Tuesday.
Fernandez captured the first-round contest despite registering only two aces — Starodubtseva had six — and committing six double faults, two more than her opponent. But the Canadian, the 2021 U.S. Open runner-up, did earn five breaks on 10 attempts while the Ukrainian converted on three-of-11 chances.
WATCH | Fernandez earns straight-sets win:
Canada's Rebecca Marino will play her first-round women's singles match Monday Britain's Kaite Boulter on Monday.
In other action, Aryna Sabalenka took her first step toward a third consecutive Australian Open title as the top-seeded Belarusian breezed to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Sloane Stephens.
Sabalenka had 20 winners and broke Stephens, who won the 2017 U.S. Open, on five occasions from 13 break points.
Afterward, Sabalenka shared a bit of a lighter side when asked about her tradition of posting a pre-tournament dance routine on social media.
"I'm not the best dancer, but I try my best," Sabalenka said after extending her win streak at hard-court majors to 15 matches. She is bidding to become the first woman since Switzerland's Martina Hingis to record a three-peat at the Australian Open (1997-99).
Sabalenka advanced to face Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who posted a 6-1, 7-6 (5) win over Great Britain's Sonay Kartal 6-1, 7-6 (5).
Fifth-seeded Qinwen Zheng of China overcame a tough first set to record a 7-6 (3), 6-1 win over Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni in their opening-round clash. Zheng, last year's runner up in this tournament and the Olympic gold medalist in Paris, saved three set points in the first set en route to dispatching Todoni in one hour, 56 minutes.
"It is a tough match today," Zheng said, "I think (Todoni), she's playing really good. I'm just happy to get through the first round, playing not my best tennis. I'm just happy to win this match."
Also on Sunday, 11th-seeded Paula Badosa of Spain, 14th-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia, 18th-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia each recorded a straight-set victory over their opposition.
Clara Tauson of Denmark rallied to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 win over 29th-seeded Linda Niskova, a Czech.
Zverev wins opener in Melbourne
Alexander Zverev took a step toward his elusive first major championship, defeating Lucas Pouille of France 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
The world No. 2, Zverev needed two hours, 20 minutes to dispatch the wild-card entrant and advance. He didn't appear to be affected by a recent bicep strain as he fired 18 aces among his 40 winners.
Pouile reached the semifinals at the Australian Open in 2019 and was ranked No. 10 in the world in March 2019. He since has suffered a variety of injuries, including a stress fracture in his lower back, a torn abdominal muscle and an elbow ailment that required surgery.
The opening day of play in Australia also featured a trio of scintillating five-set matches.
Casper Ruud of Norway, the sixth seed, needed five sets to shake Spain's Jaume Munar by a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 margin in three hours, 24 minutes. In a match that was close on most statistical levels, the difference was just seven points, with Ruud winning 134 total points to 127 for Munar.
Kei Nishikori of Japan was down two sets and faced two match points in the third set against Brazil's Thiago Monteiro before fighting back to win 4-6, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 in four hours, six minutes.
Home-country favorite Adam Walton was in control of his opening-round match against Quentin Halys before the Frenchman came back to nab a 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4), 7-5 victory, powered by 31 aces.
With files from Field Level Media
