Highlights: Canadian Stars Advance on Day 1 in Melbourne
Three out of a possible four Canadian victories were had on Day 1 at the 2023 Australian Open. With Felix Auger-Aliassime playing Vasek Pospisil there was an unfortunate guaranteed reduction in Canadians in the draw right of the bat.
Here’s a quick re-cap of how the Canucks did:
Felix Auger-Aliassime Beats Pospisil
The two friends and recent Davis Cup Champions met in the first round in Melbourne, with Felix winning as expected. It wasn’t without drama though, as Pospisil took the first set quickly, capitalizing on some nerves from Auger-Aliassime.
As the match progressed, Felix showed why he is The Man in Canada at the moment, with his heavy ground game and serve proving too much for his older compatriot.
Bianca Andreescu Scores Upset Win In Round 1
Bianca Andreescu started off her Australian Open campaign in ideal form, beating the 25th seed, Marie Bouzkova in fairly straightforward fashion.
From the first ball, Andreescu was the more aggressive player - coming forward whenever possible and being clinical at net.
The former US Open champ was controlled with her aggression, hitting 23 winners to only 14 unforced errors.
Shapovalov Wins Tricky Round 1 Match in Melbourne
Denis Shapovalov beat the veteran Dusan Lajovic in 4 sets to start off his tournament.
Shapovalov, for the most part, played with the controlled aggression that we saw at the end of 2022, and seemed very happy with his level by the end. His pace and energy proved too much for the older Serb, but Lajovic managed to make it tricky for Shapovalov in the battle of the one handed backhands.
Rebecca Marino Loses In Australian Open Round 1
Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino was not as fortunate on Day 1, losing in straight sets to Lin Zhu of China.
Zhu’s strong return game minimized the impact of Marino’s big serve, resulting in 4 breaks of serve against the Canadian. With 21 unforced errors in 2 sets, it was not Marino’s day at the office.
Australian Open Day 2 Preview for Canadians
On Tuesday in Melbourne, Leylah Annie Fernandez will get her 2023 campaign underway vs France’s Alize Cornet first up on Court 3, at 7pm EST.
Fernandez will look to improve on last year’s result, where she lost in the first round, but Cornet is not an easy opponent.
Katherine Sebov will play on Rod Laver Arena as she takes on title contender Caroline Garcia. After winning 3 qualifying matches, the Canadian will try and take that confidence onto the biggest stage of the tournament.