(Hua Hin) Canada’s Bianca Andreescu made her debut at the Thailand Open on Tuesday, beating Britain’s Harriet Dart 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.
Andreescu, the tournament favorite, disposed of her rival in just one hour and 23 minutes of play. The Ontarian, currently 42e on the world chessboard, thus increased his career record to 3-1 career against Dart, 104e in the world.
In the next round, the 2019 US Open champion will face Russia’s Anastasia Zakharova. This last one, 96e in the world, set the stage for the clash against Andreescu by beating Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 3-6, 7-5 and 6-3 in the first round.
Andreescu used his power and precision to quickly take control of the encounter against Dart. The latter was particularly muddled; she committed five double faults, against only one for Andreescu.
In addition, the representative of the maple leaf was more opportunistic than her rival in decisive moments. Andreescu converted six of eight break points, while Dart was limited to three breaks in four attempts.
The 22-year-old was eliminated 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 in the Australian Open second round by Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa two weeks ago.
The Thailand Open is a WTA 250 category tournament that takes place on cement.
