Canada's Fernandez beats Li in straight sets, reaches Madrid Open quarterfinals

Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, reaches to hit a return against Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines, during the Stuttgart Open tennis tournament, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Stuttgart. Germany. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

MADRID — Canada's Leylah Fernandez advanced to the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open with a straight-sets win over Ann Li on Monday.

Fernandez, seeded 24th, defeated the 31st-seeded American 6-3, 6-2 in the women's round of 16 of the clay-court tournament.

Later, men's third seed Félix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal was upset 7-6 (3), 6-3 by Belgium's Alexander Blockx in the men's third round.

Fernandez, from Laval, Que., converted 3 of 8 break-point chances in a match that lasted one hour, 23 minutes, firing six aces and winning 75.6 per cent of her first-serve points. Li failed to convert either of her two break opportunities.

Fernandez is only the second Canadian to make it to the quarterfinals in Madrid. She also equalled her best career result at a WTA 1000 event after reaching the quarterfinals in Guadalajara in 2023 and Doha and Cincinnati in 2024.

"We've been working hard," Fernandez said. "To see the results coming in feels good, and the way that I'm doing it with calm and positivity, it's the right way."

The Canadian will face ninth-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia in the quarterfinals. They split their previous two meetings, both coming in 2023.

The match between Auger-Aliassime and Blockx featured just two break-point chances, with Auger-Aliassime missing a chance to go up 2-0 in the first set, and Blockx succeeding when getting the same opportunity in the second.

Auger-Aliassime, who came into Madrid with a career-high world ranking of No. 5, fell to 18-8 on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026.

The Canadian Press