(Wimbledon) For the second year in a row, Félix Auger-Aliassime’s career at the Wimbledon Tennis Open ended in the first round.
Facing American Michael Mmoh, ranked 119th in the world and admitted to the men’s singles main draw as a “fortunate loser”, Auger-Aliassime lost in four sets of 6-7 (4), 7-6 ( 4), 6-7 (4), 4-6.
Down 4-5 in the fourth set, Auger-Aliassime, who played his match with a bandage around his left knee, started the tenth game well by winning the first two points on his serve. He lost the next three, however, to find himself in front of a match point.
Mmoh didn’t have to hit a single ball during that point, with Auger-Aliassime committing his seventh double fault of the clash, which lasted 3 hours 59 minutes.
Last year, in an almost identical scenario, Auger-Aliassime also lost two sets in the tiebreaker en route to a four-set loss to Maxime Cressy, another player from the United States.
In addition, on May 29, when he was physically in bad shape, Auger-Aliassime also lost in the first round of the French Open, against the Italian Fabio Fognini.
His match against Mmoh on Monday was his first since that setback.
Ontarian Denis Shapovalov also plays his first round match on Monday against Radu Albot of Moldova.
The duel takes place on court number 12, the same one where Auger-Aliassime played his.
Quebec’s Leylah Fernandez defeated Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl in three sets 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on Monday to earn her bye to the second round of the Wimbledon Open.
For Fernandez, who is just 20, it is her first career win in the women’s singles main draw at Wimbledon. In her only other appearance at the All England Club as a pro, in 2021, she was eliminated in the opening round.
Fernandez earned the win despite a mediocre performance on his serve, especially over the first two sets. Before starting the third round, the athlete from Laval had scored two aces and committed seven double faults.
Fernandez was more efficient in the third set, scoring five aces against three double faults. Above all, she posted a success rate of 71% of her first balls during the decisive set.
Yet despite these more favorable stats, Fernandez, ranked 95th in the world, had to come from behind to topple her 85th-ranked rival in round three.
Broken in the first and fifth games of the set, Fernandez reacted by stealing her rival’s serve in the sixth game and again in the 10th game, which allowed her to confirm her victory.
In the next round, Fernandez will face a tough test as she takes on Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia. Ranked fifth in the world, Garcia beat American Katie Volynets 6-4, 6-3.
