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.
All three 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.
Fernandez made 20 unforced errors, while Muchova committed 43.
WATCH l Fernandez tops Muchova in 3 sets:
Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., beat Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 to advance to the second round of Paris 2024.
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.
WATCH l Auger-Aliassime cruises past Giron:
Thirteenth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime from Montreal, Que., defeats Marcos Giron of the United States 6-1, 6-4 in the opening round of the men’s singles at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
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.
Later Sunday, Fernandez was set to team with Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski in women’s doubles, while veteran Milos Raonic was in men’s singles action.
WATCH l Andreescu victorious in 1st Olympic match:
Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., defeated Clara Tauson of Denmark 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Nadal wins in singles, will play rival Djokovic next
Rafael Nadal made a last-minute decision to play singles at the Paris Olympics on Sunday and won his first-round match against Marton Fucsovics 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to set up a blockbuster showdown against rival Novak Djokovic.
Nadal was greeted by a standing ovation from spectators, many of whom used cameras on their phones to capture the moment when he strode into Court Philippe Chatrier — the same stadium where he has captured his record 14 French Open titles.
There is a statue of Nadal outside the arena, and fans gathered around the steel structure Sunday morning, when it was still unclear whether he would be competing later.
Not only did the 38-year-old Spaniard play, but for stretches, particularly in the early going and in crunch time down the stretch, he played very much like a version of himself everyone is used to seeing: the sprinting, sliding, grunting star who owns 22 Grand Slam trophies in all and won Olympic gold medals for Spain in singles in 2008 and doubles in 2016.
And the crowd loved it, regaling him with clap-accompanied chants of his nickname, “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!”
In other men’s action, two-time French Open runner-up Casper Ruud of Norway beat Taro Daniel of Japan 7-5, 6-1.
Later, Tokyo gold medallist Alexander Zverev was to play Jaume Munar and Andy Murray was teaming with Daniel Evans in doubles against Daniel and Kei Nishikori in the last tournament of Murray’s career.
Wimbledon champ Krejcikova rallies past Sorribes Tormo
Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova rallied for a 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (3) victory over Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain in an opening-round match on Sunday that lasted nearly three hours.
Krejcikova has big hopes with the Olympic tournament being played at Roland Garros, where she has won the French Open in both singles (in 2021) and doubles (2018 and 2021). She and Czech partner Katerina Siniakova also are attempting to defend the doubles gold medal they won in Tokyo.
Krejcikova warmed up for the Olympics by teaming with Siniakova to win the doubles title at the Prague Open on Friday.
“After Wimbledon, I set up my mind that I want to really play well in Prague and during the Olympics,” Krejcikova said. “So my mind is there. I’m very motivated. … I want to fight for that.”
Also advancing on the red clay was seventh-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece, who routed Danka Kovinic of Montenegro 6-0, 6-1.
Danielle Collins, an American making her Olympic debut in her last season on tour, advanced when German opponent Laura Siegemund retired due to an injured left ankle. Collins was ahead 6-3, 2-0 at the time of the withdrawal.