Fernandez again loses opening match
MELBOURNE, Australia — Four months later and on the other side of the world, Leylah Fernandez lost to a 133rd-ranked wildcard entry in her first Grand Slam match since her runner-up finish at the U.S. Open.
The 19-year-old Canadian had an upset 6-2, 6-4 loss to Maddison Inglis in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday, the third straight year she’s failed to progress to the second round at the first tennis major of the year.
Fernandez made 30 unforced errors, dropped her serve three times and hit only eight winners against Inglis, who converted her third match point to complete her first win in the main draw of a major.
She lost in the first round at last year’s Australian Open to then defending champion Sofia Kenin.
For Fernandez, the venue and the vibe were a long way from her run to the final at Flushing Meadows, where she lost to Emma Raducanu. Raducanu was scheduled to play later Tuesday against 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Meanwhile, two-time major winner Garbine Muguruza kept a perfect Australian Open streak intact when she won her first-round match for the 10th straight time, beating No. 77-ranked Clara Burel 6-3, 6-4 to open play on Rod Laver Arena on Day 2.
Muguruza is slated next to play French veteran Alize Cornet, who beat Viktoriya Tomova 6-3, 6-3.
Sixth-seeded Anett Kontaveit, runner-up to Muguruza at last year’s WTA Finals, had a 6-2, 6-3 win over Katerina Siniakova. Seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion, opened with a 6-3, 6-0 win over 123rd-ranked British qualifier Harriet Dart.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova lost to Sorana Cirstea of Romania for the second straight year, this time 6-2, 6-2 in the first round.
In early men’s results, No. 5 Andrey Rublev beat Gianluca Mager 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; No. 13 Diego Schwartzman beat Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-4, 7-5; No. 15 Roberto Bautista Agut beat Stefano Travaglia 7-6 (2), 6-4, 5-7, 6-1; and No. 27 Marin Cilic beat Emilio Gomez 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.
The second-seeded Daniil Medvedev, one of the biggest potential beneficiaries of Novak Djokovic’s deportation, had a 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over Henri Laaksonen in the first round at Melbourne Park. Medvedev is aiming to be the first man in the Open era to win his second major title on his next Grand Slam appearance.