2019 Indian Wells champion Bianca Andreescu made a winning return at the BNP Paribas Open, Alison Riske to advance to the third round in a 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 triumph.
Andreescu and Riske battled through a tough opening set as each broke the others’ serve, but Andreescu’s persistence saw her hold off Riske to win the tiebreak.
The Canadian looked in control in the second set after building a 4-1 lead and winning 73.5 per cent of her first serve points.
But at 4-2 she allowed Riske back into the match and then hit. A backhand return into the net before a double fault handed the set to the American.
In the decider Andreescu settle and then raced to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, closing out the match to take her Indian Wells career record to 8-0.
“I felt like I could have raised my level a little bit more throughout the match because that’s what she did, that’s how she came back in those important moments,” Andreescu said.
“But I think the key for me today was to keep my composure as much as I can and not to feel the pressure of the crowd or being defending champion. I think I dealt with that better in the third set.”
Next up for Andreescu is No.18 seed Anett Kontaveit, who beat Italy’s Martina Trevisa 6-3, 5-2 win by retirement.
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