Auger-Aliassime, Fernandez, Andreescu advance at Olympics

PARIS — It's a great start for Canadian tennis at the Paris Olympics as Felix Auger-Aliassime, Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Fernandez all posted victories on Sunday.

Veteran Milos Raonic was the only Canadian to lose, dropping two tiebreaks in defeat.

All four players waited an extra day to see their first-round singles action after heavy rain scrubbed Saturday's schedule at Roland Garros.

Montreal's Auger-Aliassime fired 10 aces as he made quick work of American Marcos Giron with a 6-1, 6-4 straight-set victory.

In the women's draw, Andreescu, of Mississauga, Ont., converted four of six breaks in an efficient 6-2, 6-3 win over Denmark’s Clara Tauson, while Fernandez, of Laval, Que., outlasted Karolina Muchova of Czechia 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in a match that lasted two hours and 21 minutes.

Raonic, of Thornhill, Ont., fell to Dominik Koepfer of Germany 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1) in two hours and 23 minutes.

Despite his dominant display, Auger-Aliassime says he was far from perfect on Sunday.

“No, there’s always room for improvement,” he said in French. “On the serve, it was very good, but I think that on the return, especially in the second set, I could have done more to apply more pressure. But since my serve went so well, I was able to use it well in the set.”

Still, the match showcased Auger-Aliassime's blend of power, finesse, precision, and mental strength.

“There was a nice variety. I think it’s good to show all of my strengths in the game,” said Auger-Aliassime, who made in Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago.

Meanwhile, Andreescu felt comfortable from the get-go in her match with Tauson.

“It wasn't easy. I mean, no match is easy, but I feel like my mentality right from the start, I was on it right from the first point, and that was the goal going into the match," she said. "And I did that really well. I was serving well. I was returning well, and yeah, that's all I can ask for.”

Andreescu is making her Olympic debut after injuries forced her to pull out of the Tokyo Games.

"I don't think there are any words to describe this. The crowd, first of all, was incredible from both sides. It was a super fun atmosphere," Andreescu said of the atmosphere at Roland Garros.

Fernandez led by a set and was up 4-2 in the second before the No. 29-ranked Muchova, a 2023 French Open finalist, stormed back to take it.

The Canadian regained her composure in the final set, earning three breaks to bring her total to seven, helping her advance to the second round on her third match point.

"It wasn’t easy, but I’m happy with my fight, my competitiveness and my positivity," Fernandez said. "I’m happy not to have given up and to have found a solution in the third set."

Fernandez made 20 unforced errors, while Muchova committed 43.

The lengthy matchup forced Fernandez's women's doubles match with Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski against France's Clara Burel and Varvara Gracheva to be postponed to Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2024.