Andreescu, Fernandez Advance Through Olympic Openers in Paris

Canada’s women got off to a strong start in the tennis event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, with both Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Annie Fernandez scoring first-round victories on Sunday. 

Andreescu had to wait over and over again to make her Olympic debut, but when she finally did, it was worth the wait. The Canadian easily dispatched Clara Tauson of Denmark in straight sets to advance on Sunday at the Paris Olympics. 

Apart from one blip in the second set, it was all Andreescu in the opening-round clash at Roland-Garros. The Canadian kept Tauson under constant pressure and was efficient on break points, moving into the second round with a 6-2, 6-3 win. 

It was Andreescu’s first-ever match at the Olympics, as she had withdrawn from the previous Games in Tokyo three years ago. Even the match with Tauson was pushed back due to rain, having initially been scheduled for Saturday. 

Everything went the Canadian’s way in the match, as she won 81 per cent of her first serve points and had more than twice as many winners, 25 to 10, as her opponent. She only faced one break point in the match and when she had a chance to break Tauson, she took full advantage, converting four of six opportunities. 

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Andreescu wasted little time in taking an early lead. In Tauson’s second return game, the Dane dumped a drop shot into the net to hand the Canadian a quick 3-1 lead. Once ahead, Andreescu lost just one point on her own serve, never giving her opponent a chance to get back in the set. 

After dropping serve again at the end of the opener, Tauson looked to give herself a chance to get back in the match when she took advantage of a series of Andreescu backhand errors to break for a 2-1 lead in the second set. 

However, the Canadian quickly responded, bludgeoning the Dane into some errors of her own to give the break right back in the next game. 

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Using all of the variety at her disposal, Andreescu kept Tauson guessing throughout the second set and the Dane struggled to find any rhythm. As a result, a double-fault filled game opened the door for Andreescu, who flipped a lob over Tauson to break for a 5-3 lead. The Canadian wrapped up the win with a forehand winner. 

In round two, Andreescu will meet recent Wimbledon semifinalist Donna Vekic of Croatia. 

Fernandez Fights Through 

Of the four Canadians competing in singles in Paris, Fernandez was dealt arguably the trickiest first-round opponent in the form of 2023 Roland-Garros runner-up Karolina Muchova. The match was back-and-forth, with Fernandez having to hold tough after letting a lead slip away, but ultimately won 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the second round of the Olympics for the second time. 

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In a match where seemingly no service game was safe, Fernandez was able to convert seven of 16 break point chances, while saving six of 10 on her own serve. The Canadian won an impressive 53 per cent of her opponent’s first serve points. Muchova did herself few favours in the match, committing 43 unforced errors. 

Right from the start, it was the Canadian applying pressure. Fernandez got off to a dream start, breaking Muchova in the Czech’s first service game as she raced out to a 3-0 lead. 

While she did have to save a break point when consolidating the break, Fernandez had her foot on the gas throughout the opening set and continued to attack her opponent’s serve. She was rewarded with another break to go up 5-1, eventually taking the set in just under 40 minutes. 

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For much of the second, the servers found themselves under constant pressure. There were break points in each of the first six games, with three of them being converted. Fernandez initially broke for a 2-1 lead, only to be tagged back immediately. But then the Canadian broke again and this time, after saving another break back point, stretched her lead to 4-2. 

From there, Muchova flipped a switch. After the first hold to love of the entire match, she once again broke the Canadian to get back on serve at 4-4. The next time Fernandez stepped up to the line, she found herself down 15-40, double set point, and was broken again on the second as she lost four straight games to see the match into a deciding set. 

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Fernandez wasted no time in reclaiming the initiative, breaking quickly to race ahead 3-0 in the third. The Canadian was in full control of the rallies, forcing Muchova to do laps behind the baseline and when the Czech was able to get control of a rally, Fernandez was often able to find a spectacular defensive forehand to flip the script. 

The Canadian made it a double break for 4-1 but Muchova was able to get one back. However, there was no denying Fernandez as she pulled out another dazzling forehand down the line to move within a game of victory at 5-2, where she served out the win. 

Fernandez will meet either Petra Martic of Croatia or Cristina Busca of Spain in the second round. The Canadian caught a break when the highest seed in her section, world No. 4 Elena Rybakina, withdrew from the Olympics.