(San Diego) If Bianca Andreescu needed a spark to ignite her return to the top of the women’s tennis rankings, she may have found it late Monday night as she knocked out the Russian Liudmila Samsonova at the San Diego Open.
Posted at 8:18 a.m.
The 22-year-old Canadian surprised Samsonova, all fired up by the clock, 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-2 in the first round of the tournament, after a 2:38 marathon match .
Samsonova, 23, currently occupies the 23e rank in the WTA rankings and has just won three WTA titles in two months. She was one of the headliners of the competition, the first held in San Diego since 2015, but had her hands full with the 57e world racket.
If Samsonova had more aces than Andreescu (10 against three), the Ontarian had more success on her first serves and breaks.
Andreescu will play in the round of 16 on Wednesday, facing the winner of the duel between Montreal’s Leylah Fernandez and the eighth seed, Russia’s Daria Kasatkina.
In doubles, Ontario’s Carol Zhao and British Columbia’s Rebecca Marino will face Sofia Kenin and Samsonova in the round of 16.
The second pair formed by Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Mexico’s Giuliana Olmos will face Americans Sabrina Santamaria and Kaitlyn Christian.