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Canada’s Andreescu breezes to victory in first match after seven-week absence

May 24, 2021 | 10:24 AM

STRASBOURG, France — Bianca Andreescu defeated Andrea Lazaro Garcia of Spain 6-1, 6-2 on Monday at the Strasbourg Open in the Canadian’s first competitive match in seven weeks.

Andreescu, the top seed at the WTA 250-level tournament, needed only 61 minutes to complete the victory on the red clay at the Strasbourg Tennis Club. 

The world No. 7 from Mississauga, Ont., suffered a foot injury in the final of the Miami Open in early April. 

Andreescu tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Spain for the start of the clay-court season and didn’t play in Madrid or Rome. 

She improved to 10-3 on the season with the victory. It was the WTA Tour main draw debut for Lazaro Garcia, a 26-year-old qualifier. 

Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion, will play Belgium’s Maryna Zanevska in the second round.

Other first-round winners Monday included fifth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and sixth-seeded Zhang Shuai of China.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2021. 

The Canadian Press