2019 champion Bianca Andreescu notched another key win on home soil at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers on Wednesday night, earning her first win over a player who had troubled her mightily in the past.

Andreescu topped Alizé Cornet 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in 2 hours and 26 minutes to reach the tournament’s Round of 16 for the third time in her career. Andreescu has now won eight matches in a row at the event when it is held in Toronto, which is the nearest major city to her hometown.

Words from the winner: “I think it was just the fighting spirit of both of us,” Andreescu reflected on the match. “She’s very consistent and I really had to push through, especially in the tough moments. I think I played those key moments a bit better today.

“I think especially in these tight matches, those are the key moments that you really need under your belt. And when you have them it definitely gives you a lot of confidence. And I hope I can continue that the rest of the tournament.”

Stat corner: Cornet had defeated Andreescu in straight sets in their two previous meetings, which both came in last year’s grass-court season, at Berlin and in the first round of Wimbledon. The third time was the charm for Andreescu as she finally got her first victory over Cornet.

Andreescu had not won back-to-back matches on hard court in nearly a year, with her last consecutive wins on the surface coming at the 2021 US Open. However, the former US Open champion backed up her Top 10 win over Daria Kasatkina from the first round, firing 27 winners past Cornet.

Andreescu had a matching 27 unforced errors in the encounter as well. However, Cornet finished the clash with less clean numbers than the Canadian, with 21 winners to 30 unforced errors.

Zheng to face Andreescu; Teichmann upsets Kontaveit

Earlier on Wednesday, Top 5 players Ons Jabeur and Anett Kontaveit were ousted from the tournament in their opening matches following first-round byes.

Rising Chinese 19-year-old Zheng Qinwen was leading No.5 seed Jabeur 6-1, 2-1 when Jabeur retired from their second-round match due to abdominal pain. Zheng will be Andreescu’s opponent in the Round of 16, which will be their first meeting.

Zheng has now collected two hard-court match-wins in a row at tour-level for the first time since January. She has also garnered the first Top 10 win of her career with the victory over Jabeur, via retirement.

World No.51 Zheng is in the midst of her breakthrough season, which she started ranked No.143. Zheng was the only player to claim a set from eventual champion Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros.

And World No.21 Jil Teichmann upset No.2 seed Kontaveit 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour and 27 minutes to reach the Round of 16 in Toronto. Teichmann converted four of her six break points while also fending off six of the eight break points she faced.

Teichmann earned the fifth Top 5 win of her career, and she defeated a current World No.2 for the second time. She had previously beaten then-No.2 Naomi Osaka during her run to the WTA 1000 Cincinnati final last year.

Teichmann, who beat former World No.1 Venus Williams in the first round, will square off against another former World No.1, two-time National Bank Open champion Simona Halep, in the Round of 16. Teichmann and Halep will meet for the first time.

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