Photo: Martin Sidorjak
It was day two at the All England Club, with three Canadians competing in the first round of the singles draw. Bianca Andreescu – the last remaining Canadian women’s singles player left in the tournament – kick-started her Wimbledon campaign on Court 14 against American qualifier Emina Bektas.
Last week, Andreescu had an extraordinary outing in Bad Homburg, Germany, appearing in the first grass-court final of her career. Today, she kept that momentum going and defeated the world No. 224 Bektas by a score of 6-1, 6-3. The victory marked her first at the prestigious grass-court Grand Slam.
Andreescu’s previous main-draw appearances at the All England Club came in 2017 and 2021, falling in straight sets in both of her opening matches. However this year, the third time was the charm, as the Canadian made light work of her opponent, only needing 54 minutes to seal the win.
Andreescu soared through the opening set, delivering three aces and winning a perfect 100 per cent of service points. She was also able to raise her game in clutch moments, converting 60 per cent of her break point opportunities (3/5).
With that picture-perfect set under her belt, Andreescu came out strong winning the first 3 games in the second. It was a bit more of an even playing field after that with the two going back and forth, with Bektas winning the next two games. However, Andreescu regained her rhythm and dominated the remainder of the set, hitting two aces and continuing her fantastic service game, winning 85 per cent of first-serve points.
Andreescu will now take on Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in the second round. The 2019 US Open Champion has not played the No. 23 ranked Rybakina, however her form on grass has never looked better. There are high hopes for the 22-year-old who will play in the round of 64 for the first time in her career.
