Mississauga’s Andreescu shows glimpses of past ability in upset of Russian
Published October 12, 2022 at 10:12 am
Bianca Andreescu continues to show glimpses of the ability that not long ago had her ranked among the top handful of women’s tennis players in the world.
The 22-year-old Mississauga native upset Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 in opening-round action on Monday at the San Diego Open in Southern California.
The victory over the talented Russian, ranked No. 23 in Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) circles, vaulted Andreescu into Thursday’s (Oct. 13) round of 16. Samsonova had won three of her past four tournaments entering action on Monday.
Andreescu, who has fallen to the No. 57 rung on the WTA ladder after climbing as high as No. 48 last month during the U.S. Open, will take on a yet-to-be-determined opponent as she seeks to advance to the quarter-finals.
She’ll face the winner of a match between Americans Coco Gauff (tournament No. 6 seed) and Robin Montgomery.
This week’s play marks the Mississauga athlete’s first court action since her ousting in the third round of the U.S. Open in New York in early September.
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Andreescu continues her roller coaster journey back to what she hopes will be a prominent WTA ranking once again. The Mississauga tennis star climbed as high as No. 4 in the world after bursting onto the scene with a stunning U.S. Open title in New York in 2019.
After her successful 2019 results, Andreescu fell on tougher times soon after. For two years or so, she battled injuries, a bout with COVID-19 and mental health issues.
She didn’t play at all in 2020.
Andreescu’s results so far this year have been mixed. She’s advanced far at some tournaments, while unexpectedly bowing out early in others. Along the way, she has knocked off much higher-ranked opponents before then losing to less talented players.
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