Australian Open: Fernandez tops Czech teen Bejlek, moves into second round

Leylah Fernandez defeated Sara Bejlek 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Sunday and will play the winner of the match between American Alycia Parks and Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur in the next round

Leylah Annie Fernandez reacts during her third round match against Belinda Bencic Image Credit: AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Tennis Majors

January 14, 2024

Australian Open •First round • completed

See draw

L. FernandezvsS. Bejlek

Canadian Leylah Fernandez, the No 32 seed, advanced to the second round of the Australian Open by beating qualifier Sara Bejlek 7-6 (5), 6-2 at Melbourne Park on Sunday night.

The Canadian battled through a tense opening set before breaking things open in the second, moving into the second round for the second consecutive year with a win that lasted one hour and 33 minutes.

“t was a good match. It wasn’t a perfect match, but I’m just glad that I was able to fight through some of the tough moments that I encountered in the first set and just kept fighting,” Fernandez said. in her press conference after the win. “When I had my chance to close it out in the breaker, I was just happy that I was able to execute it. But I think it was a good first round, get a feel of the court, get a feel of the tournament, and I can just improve from there.”

Fernandez hit 27 winners against 17 for the 17-year-old, and claimed 14 of 19 points at net.

“It honestly makes me feel old” – Fernandez on facing the Czech teen

Bejlek was one of 11 teenagers in this year’s Australian Open women’s singles main draw – something that Fernandez does not recollect seeing in recent times.

“It honestly makes me feel old (laughing). But, when I play against someone younger, it does make me think a little bit more of when I first started. I think that also helps because I remember when I started, I was hungry. I wanted to kind of prove myself that I could be here. I just knew that today she’s going to have that same feeling, she’s going to do that. She was playing really well. So I think I was just happy that, like I said, on key moments I was able to stay calm and just execute my game,” the Canadian said.

Fernandez, ranked No 36, will play the winner of the match between American Alycia Parks and Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur next.

Melbourne (Grand Slam), other first-round results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 58.910.000, most recent results first):