Former teen sensation Leylah Fernandez joked that she was feeling her age after surviving a first-set scare against Czech Sara Bejlek to book a spot in the second round of the Australian Open.
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The 21-year-old Canadian held her nerve in a first-set tiebreak on Sunday and went on to beat her 17-year-old opponent 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 on John Cain Arena.
It was only Fernandez's second win at the Australian Open, in this her fifth appearance at the tournament.
"It honestly makes me feel old," laughed No.32 seed Fernandez.
"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 to 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."
Fernandez first shot to prominence with a shock run to the final of the 2021 US Open.
She was eventually beaten by Britain's Emma Raducanu in a historic major decider between two unseeded players, both of whom were teenagers.
Fernandez enjoyed a strong finish to 2023, winning the Hong Kong Open and reaching the semis of the Jiangxi Open in China in successive weeks.
"It wasn't a perfect match today, 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," said Fernandez.
"When I had my chance to close it out in the breaker, I was just happy that I was able to execute it.
"It was a good first round, to get a feel of the court, get a feel of the tournament, and I can just improve from there."
Fernandez will play Alycia Parks in the second round after the American outlasted Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur 2-6 6-2 6-4.
Another member of the 11-strong teen contingent in the women's draw, 16-year-old wunderkind Brenda Fruhvirtova, enjoyed more succes than Bejlek.
The Czech qualifier ousted Romania's Ana Bogdan 2-6 6-4 6-3.
In other early action on Sunday, ninth-seeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova came from a set down to beat Japanese wildcard Mai Hontama 2-6 6-4 6-3.
The 2021 French Open singles champion has won the past two women's doubles titles at Melbourne Park.
"I feel good; I feel very hungry," said Krejcikova.
"I really want to be here. I really want to fight.
"I really want to get the wins, and I really want to get back on track and perform well."
No.8 seed Maria Sakkari made short work of Japan's Nao Hibino, winning 6-4 6-1.
The Greek star has been ranked as high as No.3 in the world but she has never gone beyond the fourth round at Melbourne Park in eight previous attempts.
Caroline Wozniacki's long-awaited return to Melbourne Park proved more a cameo as the 2018 champion needed just 55 minutes to advance to the second round.
Poland's world No'24 Magda Linette, who eliminated four seeds en route to last year's semi-finals, was forced to quit with an apparent left leg injury while trailing 6-2 2-0.
American Amanda Anisimova notched the day's biggest upset, ousting Russian13th seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-3 6-4.
The first player to advance to the second round of the 2024 Open was Russian Kamilla Rakhimova, who downed American Emina Bektas 6-4 6-4.
Wrap
Australian Associated Press
