Bianca Andreescu on Saturday beat Sofia Kenin of the US 6-4, 7-6 (5) in their Rogers Cup semi-final to become the first Canadian woman to reach the championship match of the tournament since 1969.
Andreescu, who shot to prominence with her Indian Wells triumph in March, extended her dream run in her home country when she fired a backhand winner on her fifth match point.
For Andreescu, who made her return to action in Toronto after missing the past few months with a shoulder injury, the win was her first two-set victory all week, after having spent more time on the court than any other player.
Photo: AFP
“I’ve been through so much the past two months, and all I can say is that I’m so happy to be back on the court,” an emotional Andreescu said. “I’m glad it was two sets today — but it wasn’t easy. I was so, so nervous and I just felt like crying after, because I’m just so happy. I’d say this is even bigger than winning Indian Wells.”
A relieved Andreescu, in her first tournament since she withdrew from the French Open ahead of the second round, dropped to her knees and kissed the blue hardcourt, while the home crowd chanted her name.
Andreescu had to fight plenty of nerves as she struggled to put away Kenin, who won three consecutive games in the second set to level at 5-5.
When Kenin lost the next game, she took a medical timeout and left the court to get treatment on what she later said was a groin injury.
Kenin returned to the court and won a lengthy seven-deuce game to set up the tiebreak, during which there was little to separate the players until Andreescu ripped the backhand winner to end the match.
The unseeded Canadian has knocked out some big names this week, including fifth seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands in the last 16 and the Czech Republic’s third seed Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals.
Andreescu faced three-time champion Serena Williams in yesterday’s final.
MEN’S SINGLES
Rafael Nadal yesterday played Russia’s Daniil Medvedev for the Rogers Cup title in Montreal after injured Gael Monfils of France on Saturday withdrew from his semi-final match with the Spanish top seed.
Medvedev topped Karen Khachanov in an all-Russian semi-final before Monfils announced he was in no shape to face Nadal a couple of hours after injuring his left ankle in a quarter-final win over Roberto Bautista Agut.
Eighth seed Medvedev prevailed 6-1, 7-6 (6) over Khachanov.
“I played amazing, but there were two moments in the match I should have won easier,” the 23-year-old Medvedev said. “I was confident about myself and then there were some mistakes I should not have done.”
Medvedev was upset at letting a break advantage slip away on two occasions in the second set, including at 5-4, as he tried to serve out the match.
He was also unhappy that after he led the tiebreak 2-1, Khachanov scored four consecutive points.
Medvedev fought back to tie at 4-4 and, after two more ties, won the final two points and the match.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
RSS