Bianca Andreescu’s return from injury ended in unfortunate fashion, losing 6-4, 7-6(4) to Anna Bondar in the China Open first round in Beijing on Wednesday.
This was Andreescu’s first match since the opening round of the National Bank Open in Montreal.
The Canadian managed to break Bondar five times during the contest but was only able to back up one of those with a hold. Andreescu was broken on six occasions, including a span of five-straight that lost her the opening set and put her in a 2-5 hole in the second. Despite rallying back to force a tiebreak, the Canadian lost the match in just under two hours.
It was a slow start for Andreescu who went down an early break in the opening game before a love hold from Bondar gave the Hungarian a 2-0 advantage.
The Mississaugan found her rhythm on serve through the middle part of the set, dropping just three points over her next three services games. At 3-4, 15-40, Andreescu managed to break to level the match.
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However, Bondar rallied from 40-30 in the ensuing game to break back before serving out the first set.
Unlike the opener, Andreescu was unable to find her groove on serve. The Canadian No. 6 was broken four-straight times to begin the second set but did earn a pair of breaks to keep herself in the match at 2-5.
With Bondar serving for a spot in the second round, the Hungarian found herself facing break point at 15-40 and the Canadian capitalized after going on the attack early.
Andreescu’s first hold of the second came at a vital time as the 25-year-old stayed alive and put the pressure on Bondar to try to serve out the match once again at 5-4. But a resilient Andreescu powered herself to a break point where the world No. 181 fired one of her eight winners of the evening to even the set at 5-5 from 2-5 down.
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A tiebreak was eventually needed, and, at the changeover, nothing could separate the players as it was all square at 3-3.
Andreescu came out of the change of ends with a mini-break but Bondar responded by winning three-straight points to lead 6-4. Holding her first match point, the Hungarian capped off the evening with her 11th winner to book her spot in round two.
Feature Photo: Sarah-Jade Champagne
