Leylah Fernandez wins opening match in Dubai, will face top-ranked Iga Swiatek | CBC Sports

Leylah Fernandez won her opening match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Sunday, defeating Austrian qualifier Julia Grabher 6-4, 6-2.

The 20-year-old from Laval, Que., took one hour and 14 minutes to claim her second straight-sets victory over the 90th-ranked Grabher this season.

Fernandez, ranked No. 37 in the world, will face top-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland in the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament on Tuesday.

Swiatek beat Fernandez in straight sets last year in the second round of the Adelaide International in their only previous meeting, and she is coming off a successful title defence at the Qatar Open on Saturday.

WATCH | Fernandez cruises past Grabher in Dubai:

Fernandez cruises into 2nd round in Dubai with straight-sets win

Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez defeated Austrian Julia Grabher 6-4, 6-2 at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Sunday.

Fellow Canadian Bianca Andreescu is set to take on ninth-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the opening round on Monday.

Rybakina was runner-up at the Australian Open last month, falling to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.

Fernandez is also competing in doubles in Dubai alongside former world No. 1 doubles player Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States.

Fernandez and Mattek-Sands open the tournament against Brazil’s Luisa Stefani and Kazakhstan’s Anna Danilina on Monday.

Alcaraz tops Norrie to claim Argentina Open title

Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz won his first title since his milestone U.S. Open triumph by beating Cameron Norrie in straight sets at the Argentina Open on Sunday in Buenos Aires.

The world No. 2 overcame No. 12 Norrie 6-3, 7-5 in the clay-court final.

“I felt very comfortable,” Alcaraz said. “This is the level that I have to play in a final. It is really special, I struggled in these four months.”

A right leg injury sidelined Alcaraz from the Australian Open, with Novak Djokovic reclaiming the No. 1 ranking from Alcaraz after winning the title there.

The 19-year-old Alcaraz dropped only one set — to Serbia’s Laslo Djere — in his first tournament of the year.

After winning the first set in 36 minutes, Alcaraz quickly broke second-seeded Norrie in the second set but the Briton hit back when the Spaniard was serving for the championship at 5-4. Alcaraz broke Norrie with a drop shot to win the title.

Norrie lost his second final of the year after Auckland in January.

Alcaraz next defends his title at the Rio Open.

Medvedev edges Sinner in Rotterdam for 16th title

Sixth-seeded Daniil Medvedev rallied past Jannik Sinner at the Rotterdam Open on Sunday to win his 16th title.

Medvedev converted five of 12 break points and limited his unforced errors to 17, compared to Sinner’s 30.

The 27-year-old Russian improved his record against Sinner to 6-0.

Medvedev will return to the top 10 next week, moving up to the No. 9 spot in the ATP rankings.