Canada’s Andreescu breezes to victory in first match after seven-week absence

STRASBOURG, France – Bianca Andreescu defeated Andrea Lazaro Garcia of Spain 6-1, 6-2 on Monday at the Strasbourg Open in the Canadian’s first competitive match in seven weeks.

Andreescu, the top seed at the WTA 250-level tournament, needed only 61 minutes to complete the victory on the red clay at the Strasbourg Tennis Club.

The world No. 7 from Mississauga, Ont., suffered a foot injury in the final of the Miami Open in early April.

Andreescu tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Spain for the start of the clay-court season and didn’t play in Madrid or Rome.

She improved to 10-3 on the season with the victory. It was the WTA Tour main draw debut for Lazaro Garcia, a 26-year-old qualifier.

Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion, will play Belgium’s Maryna Zanevska in the second round.

Other first-round winners Monday included fifth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and sixth-seeded Zhang Shuai of China.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2021.