Canadian Bianca Andreescu advances to quarterfinals at Phillip Island Trophy

MELBOURNE, Australia — Canada’s Bianca Andreescu is heading to the quarterfinals of the Phillip Island Trophy.

The No. 2 seed, from Mississauga, Ont., beat Ziyana Diyas of Kazakhstan in the round of 16 on Tuesday.

The Canadian easily took the first set 6-1, then Diyas retired from the match before taking the court for a second set.

Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is now 3-1 in 2021 after ending a 15-month absence from the tour.

She will face Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania in the quarterfinals.

Andreescu entered the new WTA Tour 250 event for early losers at the ongoing Australian Open after being ousted in the second round of the Grand Slam last week.

Ranked ninth in the world, Andreescu got a bye in the first round of the Phillip Island Trophy before topping the 85th-ranked Madison Brengle in the second round and the 83rd-ranked Diyas in the round of 16,

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2021.

The Canadian Press