Bianca Andreescu ousted from Madrid Open in return from ankle injury
Fellow Canadian Bouchard exits with loss to 20th-ranked Trevisan
Canada's Bianca Andreescu lost to China's Wang Xiyu, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, in the Madrid Open Round of 64 on Friday. It was Andreescu's first match since sustaining two torn ligaments in her left ankle at the Miami Open in late March.
The 22-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won the opening set and came within a tiebreak win of advancing to the next round, but Wang, who hit six aces, ultimately stormed back to take the final two sets and win the two-hour, 50-minute match.
Earlier Friday, Montreal's Eugenie Bouchard was also knocked out of the Madrid Open after losing to Martina Trevisan of Italy, 6-2, 7-5, in the Round of 64.
In doubles play, Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani defeated American Sofia Kenin and Poland's Magda Linette, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7, in Round of 32 action on Friday.
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., beat Colombians Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) on the men's side.
Swiatek cruises past Grabher
No. 1 Iga Swiatek eased past Julia Grabher of Austria 6-3, 6-2 after the three-time Grand Slam winner converted three of five break chances.
Swiatek will meet Bernarda Pera after the American was a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Tatjana Maria.
Opening match ✔️<a href="https://twitter.com/iga_swiatek?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iga_swiatek</a> drops only 5 games in her return to Madrid.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MMOPEN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MMOPEN</a> <a href="https://t.co/SCzV4O8TnS">pic.twitter.com/SCzV4O8TnS</a>
—@WTAThird-seeded Jessica Pegula, who was a finalist in Madrid last year, got past Polish qualifier Magdalena Frech 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Seventh-seeded Elena Rybakina, the Wimbledon champion, was ousted by Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, while American Alycia Parks beat Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 7-6 (5).
Alcaraz avoids upset
Also the men's side, Carlos Alcaraz clenched both fists and roared "Vamos! Vamos! Vamos!" at the packed stands of the Madrid Open.
His war cry of "Let's go!" in Spanish draws motivation for Alcaraz when he faces difficulty, and revs up his fans. It worked yet again.
The defending champion survived a tougher-than-expected test by 41st-ranked Emil Ruusuvuori in his opening match on Friday.
Alcaraz was on the brink of an early upset before he dug down for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over his Finnish opponent.
VAMOS!👊<br><br>From a set down <a href="https://twitter.com/carlosalcaraz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@carlosalcaraz</a> gets past Ruusuvuori 2-6 6-4 6-2. <a href="https://twitter.com/MutuaMadridOpen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MutuaMadridOpen</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MMOPEN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MMOPEN</a> <a href="https://t.co/5CFEPKDbCO">pic.twitter.com/5CFEPKDbCO</a>
—@atptourThe Spanish teenager, who turns 20 next week, saved five break points in what turned out to be a critical game to remain level at 3-3 in the second set. In the next game, Alcaraz secured his first break to turn the second-round match in his favour.
Ruusuvuori beat Alcaraz on the hard court of Miami in 2021. Alcaraz won that tournament in Florida a year later before also conquering Barcelona and Madrid during a remarkable season that culminated in his U.S. Open victory.
But Ruusuvuori was not expected to give Alcaraz such a tough test on the Madrid clay.
The result was still in doubt until Ruusuvuori sent his backhand into the net and ceded his first service game of the third set. Alcaraz poured it on to increase his advantage.
Alcaraz will next face Grigor Dimitrov after he beat Gregoire Barrere 6-0, 5-7, 6-3.
Also, third-seeded Casper Ruud lost to Italian qualifier Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-4.
Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev advanced after seeing off Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4 as the Monte Carlo winner improved to 9-1 on clay this year.
With files from The Associated Press
