National Bank Open: Andreescu defeats Cornet, to face Zheng in Round of 16

Toronto: Canada's Bianca Andreescu registered a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over France's Alize Cornet in 2 hours and 26 minutes to reach the Round of 16 at the National Bank Open, here.

It was Andreescu's first win over Cornet, who had troubled her mightily in the past. After her victory on Wednesday night, Andreescu has now won eight matches in a row at the event when it is held in Toronto, which is the nearest major city to her hometown.

"I think it was just the fighting spirit of both of us. She's very consistent and I really had to push through, especially in the tough moments. I think I played those key moments a bit better today," Andreescu reflected on the match.

"I think especially in these tight matches, those are the key moments that you really need under your belt. And when you have them it definitely gives you a lot of confidence. And I hope I can continue that for the rest of the tournament," she added.

Cornet had defeated Andreescu in straight sets in their two previous meetings, which both came in last year's grass-court season, at Berlin and in the first round of Wimbledon. The third time was the charm for Andreescu as she finally got her first victory over Cornet.

Andreescu had not won back-to-back matches on hard court in nearly a year, with her last consecutive wins on the surface coming at the 2021 US Open. However, the former US Open champion backed up her Top 10 win over Daria Kasatkina from the first round, firing 27 winners past Cornet.

The 22-year old Canadian had a matching 27 unforced errors in the encounter as well. However, Cornet finished the clash with less clean numbers than the Canadian, with 21 winners to 30 unforced errors.

Andreescu will now face China's Zheng Qinwen, who beat Ons Jabeur. It will be the first meeting between Zheng and Andreescu.

Rising Chinese 19-year-old Qinwen was leading No.5 seed Jabeur 6-1, 2-1 when Jabeur retired from their second-round match due to abdominal pain. Zheng has now collected two hard-court match-wins in a row at tour-level for the first time since January. She has also garnered the first Top 10 win of her career with the victory over Jabeur, via retirement.

World No 51 Zheng is in the midst of her breakthrough season, which she started ranked No.143. She was the only player to claim a set from eventual champion Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros.

Among the others reaching the last 16 of the tune-up event for the August 29-September 11 US Open were world number one Iga Swiatek, defending champion Camila Giorgi, Coco Gauff, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka.

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