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Andreescu suffers early exit in Cincinnati tournament
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    Andreescu suffers early exit in Cincinnati tournament

    Bianca Andreescu is desperately trying to shake the nomad label that has been attached to her latest comeback bid.

    She was one-and-done at the National Bank Open in Toronto last week. Before that she was bounced in the second round at the Paris Olympics. Not being able to stay in one place for any length of time and early exits gets old in a hurry on the physically demanding WTA Tour.

    Once ranked fourth in the world, and the winner of the U.S. and Canadian Opens in 2019, the 24-year-old Mississauga athlete has fallen off the rankings map due to a rash of injuries and lack of victories. 

    Andreescu, who gained entry to this week’s Cincinnati Open as a wild card, lost 6-4, 7-5 on a humid Tuesday night to 21-year-old Russian-born Armenian qualifier Elina Avanesyan in the opening round.

    Andreescu played well enough to advance, but didn’t, and that will present additional challenges for her coaches as they prepare for next week’s U.S. Open in New York.

    Andreescu had five aces, three double faults and only saved one of 12 break points in the match that took one hour, 51 minutes to play.

    Avanesyan, playing for the first time in Cincinnati, had two aces, one double fault and saved three of nine break points. She was good 78 per cent of the time on first serve, compared to Andreescu’s 66 per cent.

    Avanesyan was thrilled to win her opener, and acknowledged competing against a player trying to battle back from injury gave her a slight advantage.

    “She (Andreescu) is a very good player, but it is not easy to play this game after an injury. I was very happy with how I played tonight, and very happy that I won,” said Avanesyan.

    Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., faces Yue Yuan of China in her opening women’s singles match on Wednesday.

    Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal begins play on Wednesday morning in the Cincinnati Open against American Aleksandar Kovacevic.

    Auger-Aliassime finished fourth in men’s singles at the Paris Olympics, and teamed up with Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa to win the bronze medal in mixed doubles.

    Auger-Aliassime lost his opening-round match last week at the National Bank Open in Montreal, falling 6-3. 6-2 to Flavio Cobolli of Italy.

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    Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu suffered an early exit in the Cincinnati tournament, marking a disappointing start to her North American hard court season. The 21-year-old, who has been plagued by injuries in recent years, was unable to find her rhythm in her opening match against Czech player Karolina Muchova.

    Andreescu, who won the US Open in 2019 and the Australian Open in 2021, came into the tournament with high expectations but was unable to live up to them. Muchova, ranked 27th in the world, proved to be a tough opponent for the Canadian, who struggled with her serve and made uncharacteristic errors throughout the match.

    Despite her early exit, Andreescu remains optimistic about the rest of the season. She has shown resilience in the past, bouncing back from injuries and setbacks to achieve success on the court. With the US Open just around the corner, Andreescu will be looking to regroup and refocus in order to make a strong showing at the final Grand Slam of the year.

    Fans of Andreescu will be hoping that she can put this early exit behind her and come back stronger in the coming weeks. The Canadian has proven herself to be a formidable competitor in the past, and there is no doubt that she has the talent and determination to bounce back from this setback.

    As Andreescu continues her journey in professional tennis, her fans will be eagerly watching to see how she responds to this early exit and whether she can once again rise to the top of the sport. With her blend of power, athleticism, and mental toughness, Andreescu has the potential to achieve great things in the world of tennis.