2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez ousted in 1st round, joins other Canadians

Canada's Leylah Fernandez is out of the U.S. Open after a 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 loss to 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova on Tuesday.

Fernandez, a finalist at the Grand Slam in 2022, was up 4-3 in the decisive third set after scoring a break in the seventh game.

But Alexandrova got that break right back to tie the set 4-4, and, after a hold, picked up her eighth break to win the match in just over three hours.

Fernandez, who entered the tournament ranked 67th in the world, saw her record this season drop to 24-19.

WATCH l Fernandez eliminated in 3 hour match:

Vancouver's Rebecca Marino, the last Canadian still alive in singles play, faced Romania's Patricia Tig later Tuesday.

On Monday, Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., were ousted after losses to Mackenzie McDonald (7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-2, 6-3, 6-4), respectively. 

WATCH | Raonic eliminated by Tsitsipas:

Daniil Medvedev sent an early message this U.S. Open might be more than a two-man race between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

The 2021 champion rolled into the second round Tuesday, beating Attila Balazs 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 in one hour 14 minutes.

About 12 hours after Djokovic won easily in his return to the U.S. Open, the No. 3-seeded Medvedev looked just as impressive as when he beat Djokovic for the 2021 title to deny the 23-time major champion from Serbia what would have been the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men's tennis since 1969.

Alcaraz, the No. 1 seed, was set to begin his title defence Tuesday night against Dominik Koepfer.

WATCH | Auger-Aliassime knocked out of U.S. Open:

Alcaraz edged Djokovic for the title at Wimbledon, after Djokovic eliminated the Spaniard in the semifinals en route