Canada’s Bianca Andreescu lost 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 to Qinwen Zheng in the third round of the National Bank Open on Thursday in Toronto.
The Chinese player won the first set 7-5 after more than an hour of play, but Andreescu came from behind in the second. The Ontarian broke at 5-5 before putting the finishing touches on serve. She could not continue on her way to go to the final set and the match ended after three hours of action.
“She played great tennis. I was not at my best but I gave the maximum of myself, I fought. She was just more opportunistic on the important points in the third set,” Andreescu said.
“I would have liked to have won for you (the public). Without you, I don’t think I would have made it through the first round given how I felt. »
Zheng had six breaks, including three in a row in the final set. She completed the win on her first match point with a passing at low speed, after an ineffective volley from the Canadian.
Zheng committed seven double faults, but she made up for it with eight aces.
The Chinese won the first set with a smash, in a 12th game where she also managed a perfect drop shot.
In the second set, Andreescu took her rival’s serve at 5-5, punctuating the game with a deep backhand, returned too far by her rival.
In the third period, however, the Chinese took control with a break that gave her a 3-1 lead. In the previous game, she had kept her service at zero.
“It was such a tough match. I’m not used to this kind of atmosphere yet, against an opponent who is at home and won a grand slam at such a young age, but the crowd gave energy,” said the Chinese after his victory.
Andreescu is ranked 53rd in the WTA, two spots behind Zheng. The Ontarian was the champion in Toronto in 2019, where she was also crowned in New York.
In the quarterfinals, Zheng will face 14th seed Karolina Pliskova. Zheng fell to Canadian Rebecca Marino in the first round.
There is therefore no more representative of the maple leaf still in contention in singles. Quebec’s Leylah Fernandez was eliminated in the second round last night, while Katherine Sebov and Carol Zhao gave up in the first round.
