Tennis Canada – Canadians Bianca Andreescu, Katherine Sebov, and Carol Zhao secure opening wins  
– $60,000 ITF Pro Circuit tournament continues at Aviva Centre this week; Admission is free

Toronto, October 31, 2017 – Seventeen-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu led three Canadians into the second round at the $60,000 Tevlin Challenger on Tuesday as opening-round action continued at Toronto’s Aviva Centre.

No. 3 seed Andreescu recorded a huge win on Tuesday afternoon, defeating American Safiya Carrington 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-1. The 17-year-old overcame a first set scare and completed the comeback in two hours and 17 minutes.

After winning the second-set tiebreak, Andreescu dominated in the third and showed composure through two medical timeouts taken by her opponent in the deciding set.

“I just tried to stay focused. I visualized what I was going to do in the next two games to take the set,” Andreescu said following the win. “At the beginning [of the match] it was hard to find a rhythm, it was one of those days. I’m really proud that I got the job done in the end, I came back and that’s all that matters.”

No. 5 seed Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill will also join Andreescu in the second round. Zhao was the first Canadian on the court on Tuesday morning, and kicked her singles campaign off with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Chieh-Yu Hsu of Taiwan. Despite a slow start, Zhao was able to find her rhythm on serve midway through the first.

“I’m feeling a little under the weather, so I think that contributed to it,” Zhao said. “But she [Hsu] was playing well and I had to fight to find that momentum. I was really proud of how I was able to turn that around. I always love playing in Toronto. I really feel at home on the courts and with the support of the crowd.”

The 22-year-old secured her spot in round two after one hour and 28 minutes and broke her opponent seven times in the contest.

Eighteen-year-old Katherine Sebov advanced also advanced on Tuesday. Sebov defeated No. 7 seed Amra Sadikovic of Switzerland 4-6, 6-4 (ret.), Canadian wild card, Petra Januskova, fell to Russia’s Elena Bovina 6-4, 6-1.

In other results, Japan’s Risa Ozaki suffered a huge upset at the hands of Michaela Honcova of Slovakia. The No. 1 seed was defeated 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. However, the tournament’s second-seeded player did manage to hold form in her opening match. No. 2 Patty Schnyder, a former world No. 7 who is still competing at the age of 38, defeated Maria Sanchez of the United States 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.

The $60,000 Tevlin Challenger, part of the ITF Pro Circuit, runs through November 5 at York University’s Aviva Centre in Toronto. Former champions include Canadians Eugenie Bouchard, Aleksandra Wozniak, and Gabriela Dabrowski, as well as 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki of Germany. For full draws, complete scores, and order of play, please click here.  

About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier Rogers Cup presented by National Bank WTA and ATP World Tour events, 8 professional ITF- sanctioned events and financially supports 15 other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates national junior training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the International Wheelchair Tennis Association, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada, please visit our website at www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Media Contacts

Toronto:
Nicole Watts
Manager, Communications and Media Relations
nwatts@tenniscanada.com or 416-665-9777 ext. 4092
Caroline Anderson
Coordinator, Communications and Media Relations
canderson@tenniscanada.com or 416-665-9777 ext. 4545