Andreescu earns thrilling first-round win at National Bank Open over Daria Kasatkina

TORONTO – Bianca Andreescu willed her technique to an thrilling 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over Daria Kasatkina in her opening spherical match on the Nationwide Financial institution Open on Tuesday.

Andreescu, of Mississauga, Ont., received this occasion in 2019 earlier than taking the U.S. Open title in what was a breakout 12 months for the 22-year-old.

Canadian. She hasn’t received a match since, having battled via accidents and taking a “psychological break” at one level in 2021.

Andreescu’s lone remaining look this 12 months has been on the Dangerous Homburg Open the place she fell to Caroline Garcia.

Andreescu will play Alize Cornet of France within the second spherical.

Andreescu was sharp and energetic early on Tuesday, making comebacks inside video games she later received, and going 3-for-3 on break factors via the primary 5 video games.

Up 3-2, she blended up her pictures, utilizing forehands, backhands and drop pictures, making the world No. 9 Kasatkina work. A Kasatkina error allowed Andreescu to have some respiration room with a 4-2 lead.

Nevertheless, Kasatkina turned it up a notch, taking three of the subsequent 4 video games to tie it at 5-5, utilizing a powerful forehand flying out of Andreescu’s attain. Andreescu took a 6-5 lead within the following sport.

After Kasatkina tied the set at 6-6, Andreescu scored six out the ultimate eight factors within the tiebreaker to win the set, capitalized by a strong forehand. The set took 85 minutes to play.

Within the second set, Andreescu jumped out to a powerful begin, outlasting Kasatkina via a number of prolonged exchanges because the Russian dedicated a number of errors, sending pictures into the web.

Andreescu once more started to combine it up between drop pictures and forehands that Kasatkina struggled to return with accuracy at instances, because the Canadian grabbed a 2-0 lead.

With the subsequent two video games going to Kasatkina, the next sport additionally went to deuce with Andreescu giving up the benefit on an error, earlier than Kasatkina nailed a forehand previous her to go up 3-2.

After taking the subsequent sport with a forehand then error from Kasatkina, Andreescu was capable of restore her lead at 4-3 with one other spectacular forehand that was simply contained in the baseline and sideline.

Andresscu received her third consecutive sport on a deuce to go up 5-3, the place she fired a forehand winner previous Kasatkina who was visibly annoyed after.

With the house crowd behind her, as they’d been many instances on the evening, Andreescu went up 40-0 within the clinching sport earlier than committing two errors. She then used one other drop shot that Kasatkina couldn’t run down.

She instantly raised her arms as the group gave her a standing ovation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Aug. 9, 2022

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