George Clark |
Former US Open finalist Leila Fernandez showed her class by leading Canada to a 2-1 win over Chile in the FA Cup.
The world number 35 made a small effort against Daniela Siegel in the women's singles with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney on Sunday, before teaming up with Steven Diez in the mixed doubles.
Diez, who lost 7-5, 6-4 to Nicolas Jarry in the singles competition, replaced Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was sidelined due to a minor knee injury.
The 21-year-old duo of Diez and Fernandez defeated Tomas Barrios Vera and Siegel, eventually winning 10-8 in the tie-break after sharing sets 7-5 and 4-6.
“I'm very happy with the way I played,” Fernandez said after beating Siegel in just under an hour.
“It wasn't the greatest game because it's my first game of the season, I'm nervous, but I'm very happy with the way I managed it.
“I enjoyed my time on the field and I'm just looking for solutions
“I couldn't contain my happiness as I saw the hard work pay off and I hope I can do more of that this year.”
The match between Canada and Chile was the only match played in Sydney on Sunday, but tennis fans in Perth will be in for an action-packed day at the RAC Arena.
Great Britain take on USA, and the result is expected to have major ramifications for Australia's hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages after the home team lost 2-1 to the British side on Friday.
Later in Perth, Serbian star and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic will start his season against Chinese Zhang Zhichen.
Djokovic is looking forward to winning a record 11th Australian Open title.
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