Canada’s Bianca Andreescu suffers first-ever US Open loss

NEW YORK – Canada’s Bianca Andreescu has finally lost a match at the U.S. Open.

The sixth-seeded Andreescu was ousted in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows by 17th-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece, who went three hours and 29 minutes against the Canadian to grab the last available quarterfinal spot in the women’s singles draw.

Sakkari won 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-3 — a match that began just past 10:40 p.m. ET Monday night and finally ended at 2:14 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Andreescu was 10-0 at the Grand Slam following her 2019 title before falling to Sakkari.

Sakkari will face No. 4 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.

Andreescu went off the court alongside a trainer while up 3-2 in the third set and returned from her medical timeout with her left thigh wrapped.

Sakkari held serve, then broke Andreescu to put the pressure on.

Andreescu, of Mississauga, Ont., was looking to join fellow Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the final eight on the women’s side, but gave up six of the final seven games in the set, with her final shot going into the net to end the match.

Fernandez, the 19-year-old from Laval, Que., will play fifth-ranked Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on Tuesday with a spot in the semifinals on the line.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published September 6, 2021.