Defending champion Bianca Andreescu overcame a surprise showing from Harriet Dart, recovering to post a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory to reach the ...
Defending champion Bianca Andreescu overcame a surprise showing from Harriet Dart, recovering to post a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory to reach the third round of her home WTA tournament on Tuesday.
The 2019 US Open champion, who missed the entire 2020 season with injury, has played little in 2021 and hadn’t won a match since reaching the second round at Eastbourne in June.
Here she enjoyed a first-round bye before taking more than two hours to get past 172nd-ranked Briton Dart and take a step toward retaining the title she won in 2019 when Serena Williams retired after just four games of their final.
“It was an awesome atmosphere out there,” Andreescu said. “I was super emotional and got goosebumps walking out with the crowd cheering. There may have only been 5,000, but it seemed like a lot more.”
The winner said her proudest moment was coming back after dropping the second set.
“Bouncing back was the most satisfying thing,” she said. “The small rain delay also helped me to refocus, so thanks you, god.”
In other second-round matches, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, seeded seventh, advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over France’s Fiona Ferro. Kvitova won the Canadian title in 2012, but hasn’t made it past the third round since.
Kvitova’s Czech...
