Andreescu eliminated at Australian Open
Hsieh Su-Wei beat Bianca Andreescu at her own game Wednesday at the Australian Open.
The world No. 71 from Taiwan was creative, effective and in full control of their second-round match at Rod Laver Arena. Hsieh mixed up her shots nicely — normally an Andreescu trademark — and eliminated the Canadian 6-3, 6-2 in a comfortable 83 minutes.
“Even in those tough moments, I thought I could break her a little bit,” Andreescu said. “But she was on every single ball.”
Andreescu, seeded eighth at the Grand Slam event, struggled from the start against her 71st-ranked opponent and never really got on track.
The 2019 U.S. Open champion earned a three-set victory Monday in her first competitive match in 15 months. But she couldn’t generate any momentum against the crafty veteran on a hot, sunny morning at Melbourne Park.
Hsieh consistently worked Andreescu around the court and kept her off-balance. She used power when she needed to and played the angles well.
Andreescu displayed flashes of the championship form that she exhibited in her breakout 2019 season but was forced to rely on her power game when other shots weren’t working. An inconsistent serve and uncharacteristic mistakes — likely a sign of rust from so much time away — were her undoing.
“My serve was absolute crap today,” she said. “So yeah, that didn’t help.”
Just 60 per cent of Andreescu’s first serves were in play and she had 25 unforced errors to 14 for Hsieh.
Andreescu suffered a torn meniscus in her left knee in October 2019. The 20-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., focused on training last year rather than a return to the WTA Tour once it resumed after a pause due to the pandemic.
Upon arrival in Australia last month, Andreescu endured a 14-day hard quarantine in her hotel. She declined to play in a warmup tournament last week, electing to focus on practice sessions and training.
Andreescu had no regrets about the decision.
“I don’t feel (I’m playing) my best on the court for sure, but I’m superhappy that I’m finally back after being off for so long,” she said.
The other Canadian left in the women’s singles draw was also eliminated Wednesday as 19thseeded Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic defeated Vancouver qualifier Rebecca Marino 6-1, 7-5.
In men’s second-round play, Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 20th seed from Montreal, defeated Australia’s James Duckworth 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
In women’s doubles, the sixthseeded pair of Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands opened with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena and American Kaitlyn Christian.