Canada's Leylah Fernandez plays a shot against Denmark's Clara Tauson during their second round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Canadians Gabriela Dabrowski and Fernandez are headed for a third-round showdown in the women's doubles draw at the French Open. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jean-Francois Badias
PARIS – Canadians Gabriela Dabrowski and Leylah Fernandez are headed for a third-round showdown in the women’s doubles draw at the French Open.
Ottawa’s Dabrowski and Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani, the eighth-seeded team at Roland Garros, advanced with a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over Hungary’s Dalma Galfi and Katarzyna Piter.
Serving was the difference, with Dabrowski and Stefani committing one double-fault compared to 15 for Galfi and Piter, who landed just 49 per cent of their first serves.
Fernandez, from Laval, Que., and American partner Taylor Townsend, seeded 10th, converted five of eight break points in a lopsided 6-2, 6-1 win over Taiwan’s Fang-Hsien Wu and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel.
Fernandez and Townsend have found success since starting their partnership in March, advancing to the final of the Miami open and the semifinals of the Madrid Open, both WTA 1000 events.
Dabrowski and Stefani have reached three quarterfinals this season, including two WTA 1000 events.
In men’s action, 26th-seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., was scheduled to face world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2023.
