Felix Auger-Aliassime understands that New York is dubbed the city that never sleeps.
After beginning his match late and playing for three hours and 19 minutes, which included a 55-minute rain delay between the second and third sets, the Montreal tennis player can certainly relate to the city’s bustling nature.
In his first-round singles match at the U.S. Open on Monday night, the third-seeded Auger-Aliassime triumphed over Australia’s Rinky Hijiata with scores of 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
“We’ve known each other since we were about 10 years old, but this was our first encounter on the court. He presented many challenges for me out there… but the key takeaway is that I’ve made it to the next round,” Auger-Aliassime remarked post-match.
The Canadian recorded 17 aces, 48 winners, and 11 double faults, while committing 50 unforced errors. He successfully won 18 out of 22 service games and six of 21 return games. He now moves on to face Russian player Karen Khachanov, who defeated Roman Burruchaga from Argentina in straight sets.
On another note, Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ontario, is set to compete in his second-round men’s singles match on Wednesday against Luca Van Assche from France. Shapovalov secured his spot by defeating Miomir Kecmanovic from Serbia in four sets on Sunday, while Van Assche won against Britain’s Cameron Norrie, also in four sets.
Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Quebec, is slated to play her second-round women’s singles match on Wednesday against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew. Fernandez emerged victorious over China’s Shuai Zhang in straight sets on Sunday, while Sawangkaew triumphed against Hungary’s Panna Udvardy in straight sets.