Canadians Bianca Andreescu and Victoria Mboko both achieved convincing victories over their Italian opponents in the opening round of the Italian Open WTA 1000 tennis tournament on Wednesday.
Andreescu, hailing from Mississauga, Ontario, exhibited an impressive performance against Italy’s Federica Urgesi, winning the match 6-0, 6-3. She dominated the first set without facing a break point and won an impressive 97.1 percent of her first service points. Although she initially took a strong 5-1 lead in the second set, Urgesi managed to hold serve and break Andreescu’s serve once before the Canadian closed out the match, capitalizing on six out of ten break point opportunities.
In the next round, Andreescu will face Croatia’s Donna Vekic, the 20th seed, marking a rematch after their previous encounter at the Paris Olympics last year, where Vekic claimed victory. Andreescu, a former world No. 4 and 2019 U.S. Open champion, recently returned to professional tennis early this year after a six-month hiatus and has shown promise, improving her season record to 2-3.
Mboko, a rising star from Toronto, also had a successful outing against Italy’s Arianna Zucchini, winning 6-2, 6-3. The 18-year-old reached this stage by navigating through qualifying rounds and displayed strong skills, converting six break points during the match. With a remarkable 33-3 record this season and five titles from lower-tier ITF events, she will next compete against fourth seed Coco Gauff from the United States.
Additionally, Canadian Leylah Fernandez, seeded 24th, has received a bye to the second round, while Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov are also competing in the men’s draw, with Diallo set to face Marcos Giron in his opening match.
The strong performances by the Canadian players highlight the nation’s growing presence in international tennis. With a mix of experience and young talent, Canada’s future in the sport looks encouraging as they continue to compete on prestigious stages like the Italian Open.