Three Canadians in second-round action Wednesday at Roland-Garros on TSN
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Four Canadians have booked their ticket to the second round at Roland-Garros, with three of their matches set for Wednesday. Felix Auger-Aliassime will take on Henri Squire, Leylah Annie Fernandez will battle Wang Xiyu, and Denis Shapovalov will play Frances Tiafoe in their second-round matchups. Bianca Andreescu is scheduled to face Anna Kalinskaya on Thursday morning.
The 21st seeded Auger-Aliassime reached the second round following a straight-sets win over Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 on Monday morning. The Montreal native drilled seven aces in the matchup and won 80 per cent of his first serve points. Auger-Aliassime had his serve working throughout the match and did not face a single break point in the dominant victory.
The 23-year-old will take on Squire next, who reached the main draw via the qualifying tournament last week. The German is ranked No. 221 on the ATP tour and is making the first Grand Slam appearance of his career. Squire beat Australian Max Purcell in a five-set marathon 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (10) to reach the second round.
This will be the first head-to-head matchup between Auger-Aliassime and Squire in their careers. Auger-Aliassime was eliminated in the first round at Roland-Garros in three of his past four appearances prior to this season. He reached the fourth round in 2022, falling to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in five sets.
Fernandez, the tournament's No. 31 seed, reached the second round with a straight sets win over France's Jessika Ponchet 6-2, 6-0. The Laval, Que., native did not face a break point in her match, while breaking Ponchet's serve five times en route to the quick victory. Fernandez has never faced off with Wang in her career. The 2021 US Open finalist looks to make it past the second round at Roland-Garros for the third time in five appearances and first time since 2022, when she reached the quarter-finals.
Wang, 23, is ranked 61st on the WTA tour with a career high of 49th achieved in Jan. 2023. Her first-round win over Zhouxuan Bai was her first career win at Roland-Garros.
Andreescu made her season debut Monday morning after recovering from a back injury and defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets 7-5, 6-1 to advance to the second round. The Mississauga, Ont., native saw her rank fall to No. 228 while on the shelf but had a strong showing in her first match back. She was phenomenal at the net, winning 77 per cent of her net points while breaking Sorribes Tormo seven times.
The 23rd seeded Kalinskaya defeated Clara Burel 7-6, 7-5 in the first round. The two have never faced off before.
Shapovalov, ranked 118th on the ATP tour, advanced to the second round with a straight sets victory over France's Luca Van Assche 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. The Richmond Hill, Ont., reached the third round in 2023, his best ever finish at Roland Garros.
Shapovalov is 4-2 against Tiafoe in his career, with their last encounter coming in 2021 at the National Bank Open, where the Canadian prevailed, 6-1, 6-4.
Montreal's Gabriel Diallo fell to Kei Nishikori in the first round on Sunday. It was the first Grand Slam match of Diallo's career.