Andreescu outlasts Kalinina to reach 3rd round at Wimbledon for 1st time | CBC Sports

Canada’s Bianca Andreescu defeated 26th-seeded Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7) Friday in a second-round Wimbledon match that featured major momentum swings.

Andreescu looked like she was heading for a routine victory after winning the first set and going up a break early in the second.

However, Kalinina later broke back to even the second set at 4-4, and picked up another break in the deciding game to even the match at a set apiece.

The Ukrainian had a break and a hold to go up 5-2 in the third set, but Andreescu stormed back to force a tiebreaker.

WATCH | Andreescu upends Kalinina:

Andreescu advances to Wimbledon’s 3rd round for the first time

Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., beat Anhelina Kalinina of the Ukraine 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(7) to reach the third round of Wimbledon for the first time in her career.

Andreescu raced out to a 9-3 lead in the tiebreaker, but Kalinina saved four match points before the Canadian finally prevailed.

Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., will next face the winner of a match between sixth-seeded Ons Jabeur of Tunisia and Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan.

Later Friday, 26th-seeded Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., faced Britain’s Liam Broady in a third-round match, and Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., teamed with American Taylor Townsend for a first-round women’s doubles match against Americans Alycia Parks and Peyton Stearns.

Alcaraz, Sabalenka moving on

Meanwhile, top-seeded man Carlos Alcaraz and second-seeded woman Aryna Sabalenka both won. Top-seeded woman Iga Swiatek and second-seeded man Novak Djokovic will take the court later Friday.

Alcaraz, a 20-year-old Spaniard considered to be the next great thing in the tennis world, advanced to the third round for the second straight year, beating Alexandre Muller 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-3 on Centre Court.

The 2022 U.S. Open champion is making only his third appearance at the All England Club. He reached the fourth round last year for his best showing at the grass-court Grand Slam.

Sabalenka reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2021 but was banned from the tournament last year with other Belarusian and Russian players because of the war in Ukraine. She trailed 5-4 in the second set but dropped only three points in winning the next three games.

Later Friday, Swiatek was scheduled to face Petra Martic on Centre Court in the third round, followed by seven-time champion Djokovic against Stan Wawrinka — also playing for a spot in the fourth round.

Before that, though, two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray will finish his match against fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas. That match was suspended Thursday with Murray leading 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 6-4.

Kvitova, Kostyuk, Keys advance

Earlier, Petra Kvitova reached the third round for the second year in a row, nine years after winning the second of her two titles at the All England Club. The 33-year-old Czech, who was injured in a knife attack at her home in 2016, beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-2 on Day 5 of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

The left-handed Kvitova first won the Wimbledon title in 2011 and then added another in 2014. She has only reached one other Grand Slam final, losing to Naomi Osaka in the deciding match at the 2019 Australian Open.

Madison Keys, an American who won the Eastbourne International title on grass ahead of Wimbledon, also reached the third round. The 25th-seeded Keys defeated Viktorija Golubic 7-5, 6-3.

Keys will next face Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk. She advanced when Paula Badosa retired from their match with a back injury with Kostyuk leading 6-2, 1-0.

Also in the second round, third-seeded Daniil Medvedev advanced by beating Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (5), sixth-seeded Holger Rune defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-4, eighth-seeded Jannik Sinner eliminated Quentin Halys 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, and 19th-seeded Alexander Zverev beat Yosuke Watanuki 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.