The 2019 Australian Open kicked off its qualifying on Monday with three Canadians hitting the hard courts in Melbourne.
By the end of the day there were only two, as Felix Auger-Aliassime and Peter Polansky came out victorious in their opening matches but Rebecca Marino faltered.
Auger-Aliassime, 18, currently ranked No. 106, took down the 200th-ranked Belgian Arthur De Greef in straight sets 6–2, 7–6 (1). He secured the victory in the tiebreaker as De Greef committed his fourth double fault to end the match.
The Montreal native is playing in his second career Grand Slam and is hoping for a better outcome than the first. At the 2018 U.S. Open, Auger-Aliassime removed himself during the third set of his match against fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov after suffering from heart palpitations caused by the extreme heat. He will take on American and world No. 171-ranked Christopher Eubanks in the second round of qualifying.
People packed Court 12 today at #AusOpen qualifying to get a glimpse of Canadian youngster Felix Auger Aliassime! pic.twitter.com/obGew0BKd2
— Jedd Zetzer (@JeddZetzer) January 8, 2019
Polansky, who played in every major last season after earning entry as a lucky loser, bested American Ernesto Escobedo 6–4, 3–6, 6–4. The North York, Ont. native recorded just 22 unforced errors to Escobedo's 27 along with just three unforced errors on returns to Escobedo's five. The 118th-ranked player moves on to face No. 209 ranked Slovenian Blaz Rola.
The lone Canadian to not secure a win on day one of qualifying was Rebecca Marino, who fell to Caroline Dolehide 6–2, 6–2. Dolehide was so dominant throughout the entire match that Marino never had an opportunity to break serve.
Scheduled to play on Tuesday are Canadians Bianca Andreescu, who reached the final of the Auckland Open on Sunday, Katherine Sebov and Brayden Schnur. The Australian Open begins on Monday, Jan. 14 with the main draw being announced on Thursday.