Big win at Wimbledon sends Mississauga tennis star on to third round for first time
Published July 7, 2023 at 11:45 am
Mississauga’s Bianca Andreescu showed a healthy dose of resolve in fighting back against a strong opponent to win her second-round match this morning (July 7) at Wimbledon.
Trailing 2-5 in the third set, the 23-year-old Canadian roared back to defeat the higher-ranked Anhelina Kalinina, 26, of Ukraine, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(10-7) and advance to this weekend’s third round of the Grand Slam tennis tournament in London.
It marks the first time in her career that she’s advanced this far at Wimbledon, where she was eliminated in the second round last year.
Andreescu, ranked No. 50 on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles circuit (dropping from No. 27 earlier this year), showed a late-match determination and fight Friday morning against Kalinina (WTA No. 26) that has seldom been there during her comeback from a year-long, self-imposed hiatus in 2021.
The WTA’s highest-ranked Canadian has been inconsistent in her play for well over a year now as she tries to get back among the elite in women’s tennis, where she resided for a period after her stunning U.S. Open win in 2019.
On many occasions in 2022 and again so far this year, Andreescu has lost to lower-ranked opponents.
The Mississauga native’s third-round opponent this weekend has yet to be determined.
Andreescu defeated Hungary’s Anna Bondar (WTA No. 109) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in first-round action on Thursday after a 48-hour delay due to rain that pushed tourney matches back.
Kalinina, meanwhile, defeated her first-round opponent, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (WTA No. 167), of Spain, 6-4, 6-3, to advance to Friday morning’s match against Andreescu.
Andreescu was eliminated from Wimbledon last year in the second round. Heading into play there in 2022, she was ranked No. 56 in the world.
INsauga's Editorial Standards and PoliciesWe're backing Bianca 💪
Bianca Andreescu reaches the 3rd round at #Wimbledon for the first time in her career with a big win over the Rome runner-up! 💥@nationalbank pic.twitter.com/a2XD8sVxHC
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) July 7, 2023