Andreescu marches to victory behind strong final set at Indian Wells

Bianca Andreescu dominated when needed to advance to the third round at Indian Wells.

The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated American Alison Riske 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 in second-round action at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday night in Indian Wells, Calif.

Riske, 31, made it difficult for the reigning champion, who made just five out of 17 break points on the match.

Despite that, Andreescu turned it up a notch in the deciding set, winning four straight games by the time Riske took her first one of the set.

WATCH | Andreescu outduels Riske to advance at Indian Wells:

Andreescu outlasts Riske to advance at Indian Wells

3 years ago

Duration 1:13

Mississauga, Ontario's Bianca Andreescu defeated American Alison Riske 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 in California on Saturday.

From that point on, the 16th-seeded Canadian was able to go into cruise control as she easily closed out the victory.

The match lasted two hours 48 minutes. Andreescu improved to 8-0 lifetime at Indian Wells after winning seven matches to claim the 2019 tournament.

She will face No. 18 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the third round on Monday.

Fernandez, seeded 23rd in the women's singles tournament, is set to take on No. 9 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in the Round of 32 on Sunday night.

Pospisil retires following injury, Shapovalov advances

A matchup between two Canadians came to a premature end earlier in the day.

Pospisil was trailing 2-0 when he appeared to hurt his lower back on a serve and took a medical time out.

He returned to the court after spending several minutes with a trainer but struggled with his serve and had seven double faults before bowing out with Shapovalov up 3-0.

WATCH | Pospisil out with injury against fellow Canadian Shapovalov:

Pospisil retires to advance Shapovalov in California

3 years ago

Duration 1:31

Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil retired early due to injury against Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ontario at the BNP Paribas Open.

Shapovalov, the No. 9 seed, jumped out to an early lead, breaking Pospisil in the very first game.

The 22-year-old will face No. 19 seed Aslan Karatsev of Russia in the Round of 32 on Monday.

Pospisil, 31, edged American J.J. Wolf 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a first-round match Thursday, but lost his cool in the second set and repeatedly smashed his racked on the court.

WATCH | What to expect from Canadian stars at Indian Wells:

What should we expect from Canada’s rising tennis stars at Indian Wells?

3 years ago

Duration 5:39

Anastasia Bucsis is joined by Vivek Jacob to preview the 2021 BNP Paribas Open, as Canada’s young tennis stars Bianca Andreescu, Leylah Fernandez, Dennis Shapovalov, and Felix Auger-Aliassime are looking to leave their mark at Indian Wells.