Bianca Andreescu was back in Rome like she never left, following her impressive run to the fourth round last season.
The Canadian No. 4 took down a fellow past Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin 6-4, 7-5 in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia first round on Tuesday, getting her revenge on the American after she eliminated Andreescu in Charleston last month.
The 25-year-old from Mississauga was almost a perfect 100 per cent on break point, converting on five of six. Andreescu clinched both sets on return, needing just one break opportunity to do so as she booked her ticket into the second round in under two hours. As for Kenin, she struggled to keep her unforced errors tally down, finishing with 35 compared to the Canadian’s 19.
It was the former Australian Open champion who made the first move in the match, breaking Andreescu at 2-2, 30-40, to take the edge in the opening set. Undeterred, the Canadian needed just one opportunity of her own to quickly break back and relevel the opener at three apiece.
Read also: Monday Digest - Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov on Rome Collision Course
Kenin then found a bit of rhythm on serve, winning the next six balls on her delivery to bring her two points away from extending the set at 4-5, 30-love. However, Andreescu was aggressive in her hopes of sealing the opener in the tenth game, powering herself to a break and set point at 30-40. The Mississaugan’s efficiency on break point led to the one-set lead heading into the second.
Neither player was able to secure a service hold in the new set until the fifth game, when Andreescu saved three break points to avoid a third-consecutive loss of serve and go 3-2 in front.
The players finally found some comfort on serve but the Canadian still had to hold her nerve from 5-5, love-30, to ensure Kenin wasn’t given the chance to serve for the second.
Andreescu was determined to avoid the tiebreaker as she again put the pressure on the American with a match point at 5-6, 15-40. The Canuck watched Kenin’s ball sail long, much to the delight of Andreescu who won her first WTA 1000 main-draw match since her dramatic clash against Barbora Krejcikova in round one of the 2025 National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montreal.
Read also: This Week in Tennis - Kostyuk Wins First WTA 1000 Title
The former US Open champion will battle No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic in the second round in Rome on Thursday.
Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
