Bianca Andreescu took down Daria Kasatkina in their first-round match at the National Bank Open in Toronto on Tuesday. The Canadian took two hours and 29 minutes to post a 7-6(5), 6-4 win over the 11th seed, who was fresh from winning the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose last week.
Little separated the two players across the match but the biggest contributor to Andreescu’s win was the number of winners she hit. The 2019 US Open champion had 31 winners, 13 more than Kasatkina’s 18. Following this win, Andreescu’s now won all three matches she’s played against the world no.
9. In the second round, Andreescu will take on Alize Cornet.
National Bank Open: Naomi Osaka’s painful exit
Another former US Open titlist, the 2018 winner, Naomi Osaka had an unfortunate turn of events in her first-round clash against Kaia Kanepi.
The former world no. 1 was forced to end the match midway due to an injury to her back whose intensity flared up partway during the proceedings. Kanepi was leading 7-6(4), 3-0 when Osaka stopped play. Speaking about the status of her health, Osaka shared, “I felt my back from the start of the match, and despite trying my best to push through it I just wasn’t able to today.
I’d like to pay credit to Kaia for playing well and want to wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament”. The Estonian will take on eighth seed Garbine Muguruza for a chance to reach the third round. Kanepi defeated Muguruza earlier this year in the first round of the French Open.
Defending titlist Camila Giorgi also took her place in the round-of-32. The Italian upset the ninth-seeded Emma Raducanu, 7-6(0), 6-2 in an hour and 49 minutes in the first round. Next up for Giorgi’s Elise Mertens who go through against Anna Bondar, 7-6(2), 6-1.
Lastly, in the only second-round match played on Tuesday at the National Bank Open, third seed Maria Sakkari prevailed in three sets against Sloane Stephens. Sakkari needed two hours and nine minutes to claim a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win against the 2017 US Open winner.
Photo Credit: Steve Russell Twitter 
