ANDREESCU’S COMEBACK STALLS IN SECOND ROUND
MELBOURNE, Australia
Former U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu’s comeback from injury stalled Tuesday (San Diego time) at the Australian Open when she became the latest top-10 player to be beaten by crafty veteran Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan.
Andreescu’s power was no match for Hsieh’s shotmaking in a second-round upset, 6-3, 6-2.
Andreescu beat Serena Williams in the final at the 2019 U.S. Open but sat out all of 2020 due to a knee injury. She said she felt rusty but healthy this week.
“I definitely have to get back in the groove of things,” said Andreescu, who was seeded eighth. “I don’t feel at my best on the court, for sure, but I’m super happy I’m finally back after being off for so long. It’s such an amazing feeling being back and doing what I love.“
Williams followed Andreescu onto the court at Rod Laver Arena and had only 11 unforced errors as she swept Nina Stojanovic 6-3, 6-0.
“I wasn’t thinking so much in the second set as I was in the first,” Williams said. “I kind of just let go and see what happened.”
Williams saved all three break points she faced, hit a half-dozen aces and compiled 27 winners with just 11 unforced errors.
The 39-year-old American has won the title in Australia seven times, but her third-loss to Wang Qiang in the third round in 2020 was Williams’ earliest exit at Melbourne Park in 14 years.
This time, Williams will try to go further with a win against Anastasia Potapova, a 19-year-old Russian who was the junior champion at Wimbledon in 2016 and currently is ranked 101st.
Potapova has yet to win a tour-level title and will be making her debut in the third round at a major tournament.
Andreescu, a 20year-old Canadian, seemed befuddled by the 35-year-old Hsieh’s unorthodox game, which includes a two-handed forehand and an unpredictable mix of pace and placement.
“She can literally redirect any single ball you give her,” Andreescu said. “She can change the rhythm. I can change the rhythm too, but she’s on another level, at least today.”
It didn’t help that Andreescu served poorly, losing 17 of 23 points on her second serve. She was broken six times and fell to 1-3 in the second round at Grand Slams, with the lone win coming during her run to the U.S. Open title.
Hsieh is ranked 71st and has a history of inconsistency. But she’s 8-2 against top 10 players, including two wins over the reigning world No. 1 — Simona Halep at Wimbledon in 2018, and Naomi Osaka at Miami in 2019.
“It’s strange — I normally feel more excited to play with better players,” Hsieh said.
Another Canadian mounting a comeback also lost. Rebecca Marino, a former top-40 player competing in a major tournament for the first time in eight years, was beaten by No. 19-seeded Marketa Vondrousova 6-1, 7-5.
Marino had been sidelined with depression and then a serious foot injury.
Ann Li, a 20-year-old American, reached the third round for the second major in a row by beating Alize Cornet 6-2, 7-6 (6). No. 7-seeded Aryna Sabalenka eliminated Daria Kasatkina 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova became the second top-10 women’s player to fall in the second round.
Shortly after Andreescu lost, the ninthseeded Kvitova was beaten by Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.
Kvitova reached the 2019 Australian Open final, losing to Naomi Osaka. She had also reached the fourth round or better at five of the past six Grand Slam tournaments.
Kvitova had 44 unforced errors against Cirstea to just 21 winners.
Two-time major winner Garbine Muguruza is also through to third round after a 6-3, 6-1 win over Liudmila Samsonova of Russia.
Muguruza has been in impressive form since the start of the year, reaching the final of last week’s Yarra Valley Classic warm-up tournament with the loss of just 10 games.
In men’s play, former Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka wasted a big lead in the fifthset tiebreak — and three match points — before losing to Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, 7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (11-9).