No Canadian women remain in singles play after Day 1 of Wimbledon as Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Annie Fernandez both fell in round one on Monday.
Andreescu’s return to the All-England Club was a short one as she was eliminated from Wimbledon in the first round by Shuai Zhang 7-6(3), 7-6(6) in her first main draw match at a Slam since the 2024 US Open.
It was a match of missed opportunities for the Canadian, as she let a 4-1 lead in the first set slip away before failing to capitalize on a chance to serve out the second set. Zhang, 37, moves on to the second round and will try to match her career-best performance at Wimbledon from 2019, when she reached the quarter-final.
Andreescu got off to a great start, quickly opening a 3-0 lead in the first set. The two were evenly matched through much of the opening set, with each woman earning a break to keep things on serve.
The first set would need a tiebreaker to be settled. After earning a mini-break to take a 2-1 lead, Andreescu would drop the next two points on serve, handing Zhang full control of the match. The Canadian would drop four of five tiebreak points on serve, opening the door for Zhang to take the opener 7-6(3).
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Neither player was particularly sharp in the 1:28 opening set, as Andreescu hit 19 winners while committing 17 unforced errors, while Zhang had 18 winners to her 14 unforced errors.
Andreescu jumped out to another early lead in the second set as she immediately broke Zhang for the second time in the match. Just as she did in the first set, Zhang once again swung momentum in her favour with a key break. With Andreescu serving for the set up 5-4, Zhang broke her at love to get back on serve.
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The 26-year-old Canadian was pushed to the brink, as Zhang earned break and match point while up 6-5, but Andreescu was able to fight back to force another tiebreaker. As she did in the first set tiebreak, Zhang fell behind 3-1 early but rallied and won seven of the next nine points to get to match point. After a decent rally, Zhang nailed a beautiful backhand winner to clinch the match and advance to the second round.
-Jonathan
Fernandez eliminated by familiar-foe Tjen in round one
Leylah Annie Fernandez couldn’t get revenge on Janice Tjen for eliminating her from the Australian Open earlier this year as the 23-year-old from Laval lost 6-1, 7-6(3) in the Wimbledon first round on Monday
Most of Tjen’s success came from her serve. The Indonesian lost just ten service points in the hour-and-a-half match, winning 31 of 38 behind her first delivery.
Tjen’s power dictated the first set as the Indonesian piled the pressure on Fernandez’s delivery. The world No. 42 held at least one break point in each of her return games throughout the opener, converting three of six including at 1-5, 30-40, to wrap up the set. Tjen also served exceptionally well, making 86 per cent of her first serves with many leading to her eight winners in the first – three which came off aces.
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Fernandez had some life in the second following a strong opening service hold, but was soon in some trouble at 1-2, love-40. However, the Lavalloise went to her wide serve to successfully avoid the crucial break and stay in the contest.
After Fernandez managed to win two return points in a game for the first time on the day, the Canadian built off that in her next return game with a break opportunity at 4-4, 30-40, but back-to-back unreturned serves and a forehand sliced winner led to the Tjen hold.
Fernandez had her best spell on serve en route to the tiebreaker; though, an early mini-break put her 0-2 down. The Canuck got one back to cut the deficit to 2-3, but Tjen unleashed a return winner to regain her advantage heading into the changeover. The Indonesian stayed aggressive and had three chances to close out the match at 6-3, needing just one try to book her ticket into round two.
-Francesco
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Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
