Auger-Aliassime leads Canadian finishes at Indian Wells
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Five Canadians – Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, Bianca Andreescu, Leylah Annie Fernandez, and Rebecca Marino - participated in the singles draw at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Fellow Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski reunited with her former partner Luisa Stefani to compete in the doubles draw.
Auger-Aliassime was the only Canadian to make it out of the second round in singles competition.
Felix Auger-Aliassime - Quarter-Final loss to Carlos Alcaraz (6-4, 6-4)
Auger Aliassime produced one of his most impressive performances of the season at Indian Wells, overcoming six match points against Tommy Paul in the round of 16 for the 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory, earning him a place in the quarter-finals.
However, the Montreal native was unable to defeat No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz, falling to the Spaniard 6-4, 6-4. Auger-Aliasime had defeated Alcaraz in their previous three meetings, including Canada’s upset win over Spain at the Davis Cup.
Auger-Aliassime has now made the quarter-final in six-straight Masters 1000 tournaments, dating back to Madrid last season.
He earned wins over Pedro Martinez (7-6 (5), 6-4) and Francisco Cerundolo (7-5, 6-4) in the first and seconds round of the tournament.
With the quarter-final finish, Auger-Aliassime’s season ranking will jump significantly. He will look to build on his momentum next week at the Miami Open.
Auger-Aliassime teamed with fellow Canadian Shapovalov in the men’s doubles tournament, falling to Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna in the quarter-final, 6-4, 7-5. The Canadians defeated Holger Rune and Ben Shelton, 6-1, 6-3, in the first round before moving past the second round in a walkover.
Bianca Andreescu - Round of 32 loss to Iga Swiatek (6-3, 7-6 (1))
Andreescu overcame a shaky start to defeat American Peyton Stearns in the first round (4-6, 6-4, 6-3) but fell to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the second round in a hard-fought straight-sets loss.
The 22-year-old, who won this tournament in 2019, could see her rank jump to a season-high of 31 after the second-round exit.
Andreescu also entered the doubles tournament with partner Yulia Putintseva but lost in the first round to the eighth-seeded team of Ellen Perez and Nicole Malichar-Martinez.
Leylah Annie Fernandez - Round of 32 loss to Caroline Garcia (6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1)
Fernandez got her tournament off to a good start, defeating American Emma Navarro, 6-4, 6-2, in the first round.
However, she met No. 5 seeded Caroline Garcia in the second round, falling to the 2022 WTA Finals winner in three sets.
The Laval, Que., native flashed the potential she showed when she made the 2021 US Open Final, winning a second-set tiebreak against Garcia, despite not earning a single break.
It was the second meeting of the season between the two, as Garcia defeated Fernandez 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the third round of the Australian Open.
Fernadez will see her season rank drop below the No. 50 seed following the second-round exit.
Fernandez and her doubles partner Taylor Townsend lost to No. 1 seeds Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková, 7-5, 3-6, 10-7, in the second round.
Denis Shapovalov - First-Round loss to Ugo Humbert (7-5, 6-4)
Shapovalov fell to France’s Ugo Humbert in the first round, committing 29 unforced errors in the loss.
The Richmond Hill, Ont., native has now lost five of his past six matches, with his lone win coming in the first round of the Mexico Open against Miomir Kecmanovic.
Rebecca Marino - First-Round loss to Markéta Vondroušová (6-2, 6-2)
Marino struggled in her opening-round loss to Vondroušová, committing six double faults and winning just 60.6 per cent of her first-serve points.
Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani - Quarter-Final loss to Aldila Sutjiadi and Miyu Kato (6-2, 7-6 (4))
Dabrowski reunited with former partner Luisa Stefani at Indian Wells and won a pair of matches before being eliminated in the quarter-final by Aldila Sutjiadi and Miyu Kato, 6-2, 7-6