TORONTO (AP) — Bianca Andreescu’s strong start turned into an early exit to her first hard-court tournament of the year, as the Canadian was beaten 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 by Lesia Tsurenko on Tuesday night at the National Bank Open.
Andreescu won her home tournament in her 2019 season that was highlighted later by the U.S. Open title. But she hadn’t played on hard courts since Montreal last year, ending her season because of a back injury and not returning until this year’s French Open.
Andreescu was coming off a second-round loss to eventual silver medalist Donna Vekic in the Olympics. She nearly rallied in the third set Tuesday after falling behind 5-0.
Tsurenko was joined in the second round by fellow Ukrainians Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk. Svitolina, the 2017 tournament champion, beat American Shelby Rogers 6-0, 6-2, while No. 11-seeded Kostyuk ousted Tatjana Maria 6-0, 6-2.
But No. 16-seeded Dayana Yastremska, another player from Ukraine, was eliminated after she had to stop playing in her match against Taylor Townsend because of a shoulder injury while trailing 6-3, 3-1.
Anna Kalinskaya, the No. 10 seed, and No. 12 seed Victoria Azarenka also advanced.
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