Bianca Andreescu is into the third round of the GDL Open in Guadalajara after beating the number 16 seed Petra Kvitova 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 in two hours and 11 minutes.
The Toronto native served one ace and won 63% of her first serve points to beat the leftie who struggled with her serve. It was the first time the two players have locked horns on the Tour.
“The first set kind of just went past me,” wtatennis.com quoted Andreescu as saying afterwards. “[Kvitova] was hitting some very big shots, and her serve was very effective, and I felt like my emotions got the better of me as well towards the end of the first set. But I bounced back.
“I just wanted to make her play as much as I could, use my serve to my advantage, and just put pressure on her return, and I think I did that really well. And just fighting, competing really well.”
The first set stayed on serve until 2-1 with Andreescu serving. Kvitova had five chances to break before she was able to get the first break of the match. Andreescu fought back in the very next game and broke right back as the number 16 seed wasn’t able to consolidate the break but broke once again to take a 4-2 lead in the next game. That break proved enough for Kvitova who served out the first set despite getting broken back twice.
The second set was more of the same as Andreescu broke early to take a 2-0 lead but couldn’t consolidate and the next two games were breaks of serve before the Canadian finally held on to take a 4-1 lead. She went up a double break but was broken again. However, she broke serve once more to seal the second set and send it to a decider.
Riding the momentum of winning the second set Andreescu broke in the first game of the third set and managed to turn that break into a double break. Kvitova saved four match points before the Canadian was able to seal the win and book her spot in the next round.
Bouchard gets first WTA 1000 win in four years
Genie Bouchard, who unfortunately had to retire last week in Cluj-Napoca, secured her first win at a WTA 1000 since 2019 after beating the American qualifier Kayla Day in straight sets 7-5, 6-3.
The Montreal native won 65% of her first serve points in a match that lasted one hour and 25 minutes.
The first set stayed on serve until 6-5 when the Canadian found herself having two set points and broke the American to take the first set sealing it with a powerful forehand.
In the second set after holding the opening service game, she broke early but at 3-1 Day fought back and managed to get the break back and even the set at 3-3.
At 4-3, Bouchard broke the American to love and served out the match to book a date with Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday.
