Andreescu withdraws from the U.S. Open
Williams sisters battle, Bouchard moves on to quarterfinals in Prague
Defending champion Bianca Andreescu has dropped out of the U.S. Open., saying she needs more time to return to top form.
The Mississauga tennis star, who hasn’t played a match since suffering a knee injury last October, made the announcement Thursday.
“I have taken this step in order to focus on my match fitness and ensure that I return ready to play at my highest level,” Andreescu said in a statement.
“The U.S. Open victory last year has been the high point of my career thus far and I will miss … being there. However, I realize that the unforeseen challenges, including the COVID pandemic, have compromised my ability to prepare and compete to the degree necessary to play at the highest level,” she added.
The 20-year-old hinted she was nearing a return before COVID-19 shuttered the sports world in March. But Andreescu, ranked sixth in the world, didn’t enter any of the four events before the U.S. Open in the sport’s restart in August.
Andreescu joins world No. 1 Ash Barty of Australia, No. 5 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and No. 7 Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands in skipping the U.S. Open, which is being played Aug. 31-Sept. 13.
Novak Djokovic announced he will play on the men’s side. Reigning champion Rafel Nadal has pulled out due to travel concerns and Roger Federer will miss all of 2020 following two operations on his right knee.
> Serena outlasts Venus: There was zero interaction between the two, not even a furtive glance, when Venus Williams walked past Serena Williams in the Top Seed Open’s warm-up area in Lexington, Ky., before their 31st matchup as pros. There was also zero fanfare, with no fans.
But everything else seemed normal: hard hitting, big serving. Serena came back and won the last four games to beat her older sister, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in a back-and-forth, second-round match — 221⁄ years after the first between the two.
“It definitely felt more relaxed than the stadium at Wimbledon or at the U.S. Open,” said Serena, who now leads the allin-the-family series 19-12.
> Bouchard advances: Eugenie Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., beat Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (2), 6-2, in the second round of the claycourt Prague Open.
“I was pretty proud of myself with how I was able to bounce back after losing the second set,” Bouchard said. “I kind of regrouped and told myself to just get back to playing my game. Not let her dominate the ball, but kind of step up and take advantage.”
Bouchard is playing in an official tournament for the first time since January when she suffered a wrist injury.
Just over a month later, the WTA Tour suspended play because of COVID-19.
Given a wild card into the event, Bouchard, ranked 330th in the world, will next face No. 3 seed and world No. 23 Elise Mertens of Belgium in the quarterfinals Friday.