Photo : Michel Grasso/Internationaux de Strasbourg
Bianca Andreescu has pulled out of the Internationaux de Strasbourg due to a minor abdominal injury sustained during the second set of her victory over Maryna Zanevska earlier today.
“I will be pulling out of my next match because I did feel a little bit of an ab tear,” said Andreescu during her post-match press conference. “I don’t think it’s anything serious. But in the past, I’ve pushed through a lot of injuries and just got them worse and I want to learn from those mistakes. That’s why I don’t want to push it before a Grand Slam.”
Andreescu had gotten off to a red-hot start at the Strasbourg Open – defeating Andrea Lazaro 6-1, 6-2 on Monday and Zanevska 6-1, 6-4 earlier today.
It was Andreescu’s first tournament action since suffering a foot injury at the Miami Open on April 3, 2021. She then sat out of both the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia due to a positive COVID-19 test.
Despite Andreescu’s brief hiatus, the Mississauga native looked sharp in today’s second-round clash against the Belgian qualifier.
In the first set, both breaks of serve went in favour of Andreescu. Her second break point came from a ferocious cross-court forehand to take a 5-1 lead. The Canadian eventually held on to her serve to win the opening set decisively.
Zanevska was much more aggressive in the second set. Although Andreescu capitalized on her first break point opportunity, Zanevska responded with two breaks of serve of her own and took a 4-2 second set lead.
A third and final set was in sight. However, the 2019 U.S. Open champion dialed back in and won the next four games to win the match 6-1, 6-4. Andreescu’s record improved to 11-3 on the season and she looked very dominant on clay – a surface Andreescu has rarely played on in her professional career.
It was encouraging to see Andreescu look so comfortable on the surface. Her last time playing a competitive match on clay was just under two years ago at the 2019 French Open. The Canadian was reading the bounces, strategically selecting shots, and dictating the majority of the play during her two matches in Strasbourg.
Andreescu would have advanced to a third-straight quarter-final, however, due to her abdominal injury, will now be resting ahead of the French Open.
