Suzan Lamens stopped Bianca Andreescu`s return to tennis in the first round of the Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole. Lamens won a very close match against the former US Open champion with scores of 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(2). The exciting game lasted.
This was Andreescu`s first match since she reached the quarterfinals in Tokyo last October. Andreescu`s career has been affected by injuries and illnesses. Recently, she had to have an emergency surgery to remove her appendix in early February. Because of this, her ranking has dropped to number 130 this week. This is the second year in a row that Andreescu has started her season in the clay court part of the year. Last time, she was unable to play between August 2023 and May 2024 because of a back injury.
Andreescu quickly showed her typical exciting and unpredictable style of play with a three-set match, something that made her popular in 2019. Although the 24-year-old made some mistakes in the first set because she was out of practice, she got better in the second set. She broke Lamens` serve at the beginning of the second set, and from then on, it was a very tight and intense match until the very end.
Andreescu used a variety of shots, like slices and high topspin shots, to change the pace of the rallies. She tried many different shots against Lamens and often succeeded. One of the best and most important moments in the second set was when Andreescu won a long rally of 20 shots with a great forehand winner down the line to break serve and go ahead 5-4. In the next game, she won the second set by forcing Lamens to make a mistake with a very high topspin shot.
However, Lamens, who is ranked No. 69 and won her first WTA title last fall in Osaka, was ready to compete with Andreescu. Lamens` powerful forehand is her main strength, and it was important in the third set where neither player lost their serve. Lamens also defended very well and stopped Andreescu from winning points many times. For example, in the fourth game of the final set, she managed to handle many different shots from Andreescu before hitting a forehand passing shot while stretching.
At 5-4 in the third set, Lamens had two chances to win the match on Andreescu`s serve. But Andreescu saved both match points in dramatic fashion, first with a strong forehand winner and then with a lucky net cord. Despite this, Lamens remained calm and played very well in the tiebreak that followed. She won the tiebreak easily, finishing the match with two serves that Andreescu could not return.
Lamens will now play against No. 2 seed Linda Noskova in the next round. Noskova also had a tough match, coming back from a set and a break down to beat Bernarda Pera 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.
