Andreescu battles to first win since July, Fernandez advances in Tokyo

Canadian duo Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Fernandez both came through tough openers to reach the Toray PPO Tennis second round on Monday. Andreescu trailed No.410-ranked qualifier Mei Yamaguchi 3-1 in the first set before battling to a 7-5, 6-3 win. Earlier, Fernandez advanced when lucky loser Aliaksandra Sasnovich was forced to retire trailing 5-7, 6-2, 5-2 due to difficulty breathing.

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A knee injury had sidelined Andreescu between the US Open, where she fell in the first round to Jasmine Paolini, and Osaka last week, where she lost the opening match of her comeback to Greet Minnen. The 2019 US Open champion had not won a match since reaching the second round of the Paris Olympic Games in July.

Yamaguchi, 25, was playing the first WTA main draw of her career, but raced out of the blocks with ultra-aggressive tennis and an onslaught of winners -- eight alone in the first four game, which saw her take a 3-1 lead, and 19 overall.

Andreescu found her range on her forehand and drop shot to peg Yamaguchi back to 3-3, then delivered some clutch play to reel off the last three games of the first set. However, the home player still forced her to fight hard through a series of service breaks and multi-deuce tussles in the second set.

"She played amazing," said an impressed Andreescu in her on-court interview. "She really earned her spot in the main draw. I really had a tough time against her, and I'm sure I'm going to see her very soon again."

Andreescu will next face No.2 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia for the third time. The head-to-head is all square at one win apiece, but Andreescu was the winner of their most recent and only completed match, 6-2, 6-4 in the 2022 US Open second round.

Head to Head

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bianca andreescu

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66.7% Win 2

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33.3% Win 1

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Earlier, Fernandez and Sasnovich had delivered an entertaining contest for most of its duration. Both players sought to take the net away from the other at the earliest opportunity, resulting in crowd-pleasing shot-making and finesse. However, Sasnovich, who had given a walkover to Priscilla Hon in her final qualifying round due to illness, started to visibly fade in the decider. Fernandez will next face Varvara Gracheva, who defeated qualifier Mai Hontama 6-1, 7-6(4).

Elsewhere, Viktoriya Tomova ousted defending champion Veronika Kudermetova 7-6(3), 6-3, and Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez put on a brilliant display of offensive tennis to upset No.7 seed Magdalena Frech 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. The result was Sonmez's second Top 30 win following her defeat of Dayana Yastremska in Berlin qualifying in June.