Bianca Andreescu is into the third round at the U.S. Open.
The sixth-seeded Canadian downed American Lauren Davis, 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday, and remains undefeated at the Grand Slam following her 2019 title at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Andreescu failed to hold serve twice in the opening set but broke right back both times to avoid any sort of early trouble.
Despite 11 unforced errors and opening the match down 2-0, she quickly turned it into a 3-2 lead and finished the set by taking six of the last eight games.
WATCH | Andreescu cruises past Davis to advance into 3rd round of U.S. Open:
Bianca Andreescu advances to U.S. Open 3rd round with straight sets victory
4 hours ago
Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., defeats American Lauren Davis 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the U.S. Open. 1:59
Both players continued to struggle holding serve in the second set, but the Mississauga, Ont., native battled through and ended the match in one hour 35 minutes.
Andreescu overcame 23 unforced errors with six aces while winning 6-of-8 break points.
Next up for Andreescu is 104th-ranked Greet Minnen of Belgium, who got into the tournament as the lucky loser.
Andreescu missed the 2020 U.S. Open, withdrawing from the tournament after battling various injuries that set her back.
Later Thursday, men’s seventh seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., earned a straight sets win over Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain to advance.
Shapovalov got stronger as the night went on, firing nine aces and taking the match 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-0.
WATCH | Shapovalov eases his way into the 3rd round of the U.S. Open with straight sets win:
Shapovalov cruises into 3rd round of U.S. Open
2 hours ago
Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., defeats Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-0 in the second round of the U.S. Open. 2:42
He will face Lloyd Harris of South Africa in the third round.
Meanwhile, Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil is out after a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (5) loss to Ilya Ivashka of Belarus in second-round action on the men’s side.
Pospisil had 12 aces in the match and outscored Ivashka 35-23 on winners. But the Canadian was undone by mistakes, committing 46 unforced errors, compared to just 19 by Ivashka.
Pospisil was looking to build on his comeback win over Fabio Fognini in the first round. Pospisil was down two sets before rallying to eliminate the 28th-seeded Italian.
WATCH | Vancouver’s Pospisil eliminated in 2nd round of U.S. Open by Ivashka:
Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil ousted in U.S. Open 2nd round
9 hours ago
Ilya Ivashka of Belarus beat Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(5) to advance to the third round of the U.S. Open. 1:30
Djokovic wins in straight sets to advance
Novak Djokovic has easily reached the third round of the U.S. Open with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.
Djokovic improved to 15-0 in second-round matches at the U.S. Open and remained unbeaten in Grand Slam matches this season. He is trying to become the first man to win all four majors in the same year since 1969.
The No. 1 seed’s biggest problem came in the second set with a heckling fan, but Djokovic regained his concentration to put away the victory.
Barty eases into 3rd round with win over Tauson
Women’s No. 1 seed Ash Barty advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Clara Tauson.
Barty missed the tournament in 2020 because of the pandemic, staying home in Australia. The reigning Wimbledon champion, Barty had trouble closing out Tauson but survived and will try to reach the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows for the first time.
Olympic gold medallist and 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic defeated Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1. Bencic reached the third round at the U.S. Open for the fifth time in her career. She reached the semifinals in 2019.
Zverev continues march through U.S. Open with straight-sets victory
Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev cruised to the third round of the U.S. Open with a 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Zverev is trying to make the U.S. Open final for the second straight year. He won the first two sets last year in the final against Dominic Thiem before losing the match in his first Grand Slam final.
Zverev won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and is one of three players with four titles this season.
He needed only 74 minutes to win his 13th straight match.
Kvitova, Swiatek roll through to 3rd round
On the women’s side, Petra Kvitova is headed to the third round of the U.S. Open after a 7-6 (7), 6-2 win over Kristyna Pliskova.
The two-time Wimbledon champion (2011, 2014) improved to 31-13 at Flushing Meadows but the 10th-seeded Kvitova has never advanced beyond the quarter-finals. She used nine aces to reach the third round for the 11th time in her career.
The Czech player now trails only 2020 finalist Victoria Azarenka for most U.S Open wins among women in the draw.
Swiatek survived an upset bid and held on to beat Fiona Ferro 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-0.
WATCH | Canada’s Fernandez battles from behind to defeat Kanepi in 2nd round:
Fernandez battles her way into U.S. Open 3rd round
2 days ago
Laval’s Leylah Annie Fernandez came from behind in the second set to beat Estonian Kaia Kanepi 7-5, 7-5 on a rainy day in New York. 1:56
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
.jpg)
.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/262/895/Pospisil.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/740/999/GettyImages-1234626217.png?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
