Tennis: Qualifying play begins Saturday at Financial institution Nationwide Open

4 months ago 3 min read

Bianca Andreescu has a match in opposition to a qualifier within the first spherical of the Financial institution Nationwide Open ladies’s tennis championships, however she doesn’t need to know who her opponent might be if she will get previous her first check.

“I wish to give attention to one match at a time; I like to remain within the current,” Andresscu stated after the draw for the WTA Premier occasion was unveiled in a televised present in downtown Montreal. “There are such a lot of good gamers that I can’t look forward even when I’m taking part in a qualifier.

Andreescu, who will grace centre court docket to kick off Tuesday’s night session at Montreal’s Nationwide Tennis Centre, should wait till Sunday afternoon to study the identification of her first-round foe however — spoiler alert — the winner of that match will face the seventh-seeded Petra Kvitová, a two-time Wimbledon champion who has a first-round bye.

Andreescu had a breakthrough in 2019 when she gained the Canadian title with a victory over Serena Williams within the closing. She beat Williams a second time to win the US Open, the primary and solely Grand Slam title for a Canadian.

Within the intervening years, the 23-year-old from Mississauga has handled COVID, accidents and anxiousness, however she feels her recreation is again on observe after a roller-coaster begin. She took Ons Jabeur to 3 units at Wimbledon and stated she was glad together with her play this week in Washington regardless of shedding a third-set tiebreaker to Marta Kostyuk.

“My aim is to turn out to be prime 20, possibly even prime 10 by the tip of the yr,” stated Andreescu, who might be No. 41 when the most recent rankings are launched on Monday. That may have been adequate to earn a direct entry into the Montreal occasion, however she was No. 50 on the entry deadline and wanted a wild-card berth.

Andreescu practises meditation every morning and stated she enjoys the assist of her staff led by coach Christophe Lambert.

“They’re like a household,” Andreescu stated.

The 2 different Canadian wild playing cards in the primary draw additionally face qualifiers within the first spherical and so they even have potential robust opponents within the second spherical.

Leylah Fernandez, a 20-year-old from Laval, may face the winner of the match between Spaniard Paula Badosa and 11^th-seeded Beatrice Haddad of Brazil.

Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino may face sixth-seeded U.S. teen Coco Gauff within the second spherical.

Qualifying play begins Saturday morning and Montrealer Eugenie Bouchard might be on centre court docket at 3 p.m. in opposition to American Daniell Collins. The 29-year-old Bouchard is coming again after shoulder surgical procedure and might be taking part in within the Canadian Open for the primary time since 2019.

Bouchard, a former prime 10 participant and Wimbledon finalist, stated she’s enthusiastic about taking part in in entrance of a hometown crowd, however she has by no means performed properly on this event with a 4-12 lifetime report.

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