Court 1 at the Foro Italico featured a pair of Canadian versus Croatian matchups in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Friday.
Bianca Andreescu earned a milestone win in the Italian Open second round after defeating world No. 19 Donna Vekic.
The Canadian’s 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory was her 100th-career WTA Tour main draw win.
The world No. 121 dominated on both serve and return in the opening set. After a slip up in the second, Andreescu replicated her performance from the first set to earn a spot in her first WTA 1000 third round since 2023.
Andreescu had a great chance to record the early break. The Mississauga-native held a pair of break points in the opening game but the 20th-seed battled before eventually managing a hold.
That would be far from the last break point the Canadian No. 3 held in the opening set. Andreescu converted on two of her next three to take a commanding 4-1 lead.
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Vekic’s struggles on serve were summed up at 15-40 in the seventh game. The Croatian double faulted for the fourth time in the set, giving the first set to the 2019 U.S. Open champion.
Andreescu was dominant in her service games in the opening set, winning over 90 per cent of her first serve points.
However, the world No. 121 faced her first bit of adversity on serve to begin the second set as Vekic secured the early break.
Trailing 1-3, Andreescu hit one of her best shots of the match at 15-30, a backhand from a near-seated position that narrowly painted the line. The Canadian later recorded one of her four aces in the match to hold and remain within a game of Vekic.
In the ninth game, an Andreescu double fault and a powerful Vekic return winner put the Mississauga-native in a love-30 hole. The 24-year-old rallied to eventually send the game to deuce but Andreescu couldn’t handle the Croatian No. 1’s forehand before sending her backhand long to drop the set.
Both competitors held serve to begin the decisive set. In the third game at 30-40, Vekic committed another one of her eleven double faults in the match as Andreescu recorded the vital break.
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Vekic’s second serve struggles haunted her once again in the fifth game.At deuce, the Croatian double faulted to give Andreescu the advantage where the former world No. 4 watched her opponent’s backhand sail long to go up 4-1 in the final set.
Andreescu had the chance to serve out the match in the eighth game. At 40-love, Vekic’s return was sent long to seal the win for the Mississauga-native.
Andreescu will face world No. 12 Elena Rybakina in the round of 32. The two met just a few weeks ago in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open with Rybakina winning in straight sets.
Leylah Annie Fernandez off to first Italian Open third round
Leylah Annie Fernandez is through to the round of 32 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia after a straight-sets victory over qualifier Antonia Ruzic on Friday.
After an opening-match loss at the Mutua Madrid Open, the Laval-native is off to a better start at the year’s second WTA 1000 on the clay. The 6-4, 6-0 win improved Fernandez to 2-2 in singles play on the surface.
Ruzic fared well to begin the match against her first-career WTA Top 50 opponent, giving the world No. 26 troubles on serve. Fernandez won just 52 per cent her first serve points in the opening set, but it was smooth-sailing for the Canadian in the second.
It didn’t take long for the former Roland Garros quarter-finalist to earn her first break of the match, breaking to love to begin the match.
Ruzic responded well in the ensuing game, denying four game points before Fernandez forced the world No. 117 to put her backhand into the net to take a 2-0 advantage.
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In the sixth game, Fernandez faced a trio of break points. After managing to save a pair, third time was a charm for the Croatian, tying the set at 3-all. Undeterred, the Canadian No. 1 went up 15-40 the following game. Fernandez’s return forced Ruzic to put her forehand into the net as the Laval-native secured the break back to once again lead the set.
At 5-4, Fernandez held set point at 40-30 but sent her forehand wide. The former U.S. Open finalist made no mistake when she had her second opportunity to close out the set, firing a powerful crosscourt backhand that forced Ruzic to send her forehand long.
Fernandez began the second set in the same manner she started the first but followed that up with another break in the third game after the Croatian double faulted at 30-40.
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Up 4-0, Fernandez held yet another break point and, once again, a double fault by Ruzic gave Fernandez the opportunity to serve for the match. At 40-15, the Canadian put the forehand volley away to send herself to her first Italian Open third round where she will face world No. 27 Marta Kostyuk.
Feature Photo : Martin Sidorjak
