Canadian Bianca Andreescu wins opener at Wimbledon tune-up event

Jun 22, 2021 | 8:33 AM

EASTBOURNE, United Kingdom — Canada’s Bianca Andreescu is heading to the second round of the Viking International.

The third-seeded Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., beat American Christine McHale 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the first round of the WTA Tour 500 grass-court tournament on Tuesday.

It marked Andreescu’s first career WTA Tour main-draw victory on a grass court.

Andreescu won 68 per cent of points when she got her first serve in against the 96th-ranked McHale and saved four of eight break points.

It was the seventh-ranked Andreescu’s first win in her past three tournaments.

The Canadian will face the winner of a match between Anett Kontaveit of Estonia and Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the second round of the Wimbledon tune-up event.

In the men’s draw, Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil was scheduled to face Great Britain’s James Ward later Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, Toronto’s Steven Diez faced Brayden Schnur of Pickering, Ont., in a Wimbledon first-round qualifying match.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2021.

The Canadian Press