Auger-Aliassime storms past Shevchenko as Canadians fall

Auger-Aliassime lone – Félix Auger-Aliassime became the lone Canadian to win on Wimbledon’s opening day, cruising past Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. The result came after other Canadians—Denis Shapovalov, Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Fernandez—were eliminated, including Shapova

Félix Auger-Aliassime didn’t just win on Wimbledon’s opening day—he made it look routine. The third seed swept Alexander Shevchenko aside at the All England Club, taking the match 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 on Monday to move into the second round.

The Montreal-born player controlled every crucial moment, dominating on serve with 15 aces and never facing a break point. Auger-Aliassime also turned rallies into finishers, breaking Shevchenko five times on nine chances and firing 37 winners to his opponent’s seven.

For Canadian tennis, it was a day with a sharp edge. Auger-Aliassime was the lone Canadian to advance after Denis Shapovalov, Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Fernandez were all eliminated on Sunday’s and Monday’s opening matches.

Gabriel Diallo was the only other Canadian singles player still in the draw, set to play his first match on Tuesday.

Auger-Aliassime’s reward is a second-round clash with Dino Prizmic of Croatia. Prizmic is ranked 85 places behind him at No. 89.

The stakes aren’t lost on him. Auger-Aliassime reached the quarterfinals of the grass-court Grand Slam in 2021, but he is 2-4 at the major since then.

The contrast with the rest of the Canadian contingent was immediate. Shapovalov’s Wimbledon ended early when he retired from his first-round match after injuring his left shoulder during a collision with a courtside barrier.

At the time he stopped, Shapovalov was trailing Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 7-6 (7). He appeared to hurt the shoulder while chasing a shot late in the second-set tiebreak, took treatment during a medical timeout, played one more point, and then retired.

Despite the injury ending his afternoon, Shapovalov finished with 14 aces. His first-serve percentage landed at 53 per cent before the issue took over. Carreno Busta, meanwhile, went on to secure the first-ever win of his Wimbledon career.

In the women’s draw, Andreescu’s comeback attempts fell short in a pair of tie-breaks. Qualifier Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., was defeated 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6) by China’s Zhang Shuai.

Andreescu raced through the early stages of the first set, leading 3-0 and 4-1. But Zhang got the break back in the seventh game and the two players held serve for the rest of the set. Zhang then won the tie-break with three straight points.

The second set followed a similar script. Andreescu led again, but she allowed Zhang to win a break while serving for the set. Andreescu saved match point in the 12th game to send it to a tie-break, only for Zhang to finish the job with a backhand winner.

Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., also saw her opening day end in straight sets, falling 6-1, 7-6 (3) to Indonesia’s Janice Tjen. Seeded 22nd in the women’s draw, Fernandez had a difficult first set, surrendering her third break to Tjen in the deciding game.

Fernandez found more resistance in the second, but she trailed throughout the tie-breaker and ultimately lost on Tjen’s first match point. Tjen had beaten Fernandez in the first round of this year’s Australian Open as well.

With Auger-Aliassime safely through and the rest of the Canadian singles draw reduced, Wimbledon’s opening day left one clear storyline: one player found his rhythm, while the others were forced to deal with injuries and narrow margins that swung the matches decisively.

Wimbledon Félix Auger-Aliassime Alexander Shevchenko Denis Shapovalov Bianca Andreescu Leylah Fernandez Dino Prizmic Zhang Shuai Janice Tjen Gabriel Diallo All England Club