WTA San Diego: Bianca Andreescu with a strong sign of life
Bianca Andreescu successfully started the WTA Tour 500 tournament in San Diego. That was not necessarily to be expected given her opponent Liudmila Samsonova.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Oct 11, 2022, 10:05 am
Liudmila Samsonova made a really big step forward in 2022, the 23-year-old Russian has already won three titles in Washington, Cleveland and Tokyo. And is in 23rd position in the current WTA world rankings. A first-round meeting with Samsonova is therefore not a pleasure at any tournament, especially not if, like Bianca Andreescu, you are still not really three years after the great triumph at the US Open got back on track.
Andreescu, a veteran of injuries despite being only 22 years old, only started her 2022 season in Stuttgart, with the best result being the final in Bad Homburg. There the Canadian narrowly lost to Caroline Garcia. It is all the more remarkable that Andreescu was able to assert himself against Samsonova at the start of the WTA Tour 500 tournament in San Diego. "The match was very close and could have gone the other way," explained Andreescu after the 7:6 (1), 4:6 and 6:2. It was the winner's first appearance since the US Open, where she again lost to Garcia. In round two, Bianca Andreescu will now meet either Cori Gauff or Robin Montgomery.
Speaking of Caroline Garcia: For the French, the event in southern California is already over after the first individual appearance. Garcia lost to Danielle Collins 2:6 and 6:7 (4). Tournament favorite Iga Swiatek enters the competition after a bye against either Elena Rybakina or Garbine Muguruza.