Andreescu advances to Libema Open quarterfinals with win over Yuan
By The Canadian Press on June 12, 2024.
‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands – Canada’s Bianca Andreescu advanced to her first quarterfinal of the tennis season Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Yue Yuan in second-round action at the Libema Open. Andreescu hit 22 winners to 19 unforced errors and saved five of six break points in the win over the sixth seed from China. The 23-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., put the match away when Yuan’s return of Andreescu’s match-point serve went long. Andreescu is playing in her second event of the year. She returned at the French Open after sustaining a back injury at the National Bank Open in Montreal last August. She will next face former No. 1 Naomi Osaka of Japan at the grass-court WTA 250 event in s’Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. The two have met just once before, with Osaka coming back from a set down to win their quarterfinal match at the 2019 China Open. That result ended Andreescu’s 16-match winning streak that included Canadian Open and U.S. Open titles. In other grass-court action Wednesday, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski made a return from injury and paired with New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe for a decisive 6-1, 6-0 win over British tandem Alicia Barnett and Freya Christie in first-round doubles action at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham, England. Later Wednesday, Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino faced defending champion Katie Boulter in second-round women’s singles action at Nottingham. On Thursday, Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., faces Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in second-round action at s’Hertogenbosch, while Denis Shapovalov takes on Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in second-round action at the Stuttgart Open in Germany. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2024. 11-10
