TORONTO — Bianca Andreescu had the wind — and the home-soil crowd — firmly at her back.
The Canadian looking to climb a tennis mountain she’s conquered before blasted a shot down the line to make an early statement at the National Bank Open.
Three aces followed. Seven games later, she was up a break in the second set. Fans inside Sobeys Stadium expected the easy night to continue.
The wheels instead fell off in spectacular fashion.
A stunned Andreescu lost 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko in first-round action Tuesday — a bitterly disappointing result following that bright start as she aims to return to the sport’s top tier following a 10-month injury absence.
“I played some of my best tennis for the first set and a little bit,” said the 24-year-old, who fought back tears at the end of her post-match press conference.
“And then tennis just kicks you right in the butt sometimes.”
The first Canadian to win the country’s national title in 55 years as part of a banner 2019 season, Andreescu is currently No. 175 in the world following a back injury last summer that forced her off the WTA Tour until this spring.
She made the third round at both the French Open and Wimbledon before winning one match at the Paris Olympics.
The product of nearby Mississauga, Ont., who won the 2019 U.S. Open at age 19, had a string of health concerns — knee, foot and ankle injuries — in recent seasons before the back issue flared up a year ago.
“All I can really think about is how s—-y I feel,” said Andreescu, who was once ranked fourth. “I was feeling really great coming into the tournament, feeling my tennis really well.”
Tsurenko, 35, won the two previous meetings between the players, including in the third round of last year’s French Open.
“I don’t want to be discouraged,” Andreescu continued. “For a match to just turn around like that, it sucks.”
The NBO rotates the men’s and women’s brackets between Toronto and Montreal each year.
The women’s event endured a boatload of withdrawals — including world No. 1 Iga Swiatek — late last week following the Olympics.
Also skipping Toronto are Wimbledon champion and world No. 10 Barbora Krejcikova (thigh injury), No. 4 Elena Rybakina (bronchitis), No. 5 Jasmine Paolini, No. 8 Maria Sakkari and No. 9 Danielle Collins.
The watered-down field is headlined by No. 2 Coco Gauff of the U.S. and No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka of Russia. American Jessica Pegula, No. 6 overall and last year’s NBO winner in Montreal, is also in Canada to defend her title.
No. 25 Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., is Canada’s top-ranked player.
Other notable first-round singles matches Tuesday saw No. 11 seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine and No. 12 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus advance in straight sets.
Poised to open her pursuit of the national singles title Wednesday night against China’s Zhang Shuai, Fernandez and younger sister Bianca upset the fifth-seeded doubles team of Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani.
An aggressive Andreescu was shot out of a cannon Tuesday against Tsurenko, opening with a strong forehand down the line before firing three aces and pumping her fist in front of the partisan crowd to win the first set in just 20 minutes.
She secured her fourth break to open the second set against her 85th-ranked opponent to take a seventh straight game.
The tables, however, drastically turned from there, with Tsurenko pushing back to even the match as Andreescu — either tired or feeling the pressure — faltered badly.
A serve that had been so dominant evaporated into the midsummer air.
Tsurenko dug in. There were no answers.
“Changed her game style,” Andreescu said. “She was a complete wall today. I could not break her at all. Then in turn, that makes me think about how I’m doing. Am I not doing something right or should I be doing more?
“It was just this constant battle with myself on what to do.”
A frustrated Andreescu was broken three times in the third set as Tsurenko built a 5-0 lead. The Canadian battled hard to win four straight games before Tsurenko eventually sealed her first victory since May.
“It sucks,” said Andreescu, who paused to compose herself when asked about the fans in Toronto after Tuesday’s early script dramatically flipped.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t get the win for you guys … I appreciate all the support.”
WINNERS HONOURED
Leylah Fernandez, Gabriela Dabrowski, Rebecca Marino, Marina Stakusic, Eugenie Bouchard and coach Heidi El Tabakh were presented rings for capturing Canada’s first-ever Billie Jean King Cup — the top women’s international tennis tournament — last November.
PURSE PARITY COMING
This year’s NBO purse for the women is set at just over US$3.2 million, while the men are playing for just shy of $6.8 million. Tennis Canada and National Bank pledged last year to have equal prize money by 2027.