Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ontario is one of four Canadian singles players to reach the second round of the 2023 Australian Open. On Sunday, Andreescu beat Marie Bouzkova of Czechia 6-2, 6-4. The win was significant because Bouzkova is a seeded player, ranked 25th in the draw. Andreescu won 93% of her points on her second serve and broke Bouzkova thrice.
This was the second time Andreescu has beaten Bouzkova in a grand slam tournament. She was also victorious in the first round of the 2019 French Open, as Andreescu won 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Andreescu will now face Cristina Bucsa of Spain in the second round. This will be their first ever meeting head-to-head.
Andreescu is one of two Canadian women to reach round two. The other is Leylah Annie Fernandez of Montreal, Quebec, who beat France’s Alize Cornet 7-5, 6-2 in round one. Fernandez next plays another Frenchwoman in Caroline Garcia in round two. Garcia, who won the 2022 Cincinnati Masters title, beat Canadian Katherine Sebov of Toronto, Ontario, 6-3, 6-0 in the first round, and is seeded fourth.
In men’s action, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Quebec, the sixth seed, beat fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, British Columbia, 1-6, 7-6, 7-6. 6-3. Meanwhile, Denis Shapovalov of Toronto, Ontario, the 20th seed, beat Dusan Lajovic of Serbia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. Auger-Aliassime faces Alex Molcan of Slovakia in round two. Molcan won their only prior meeting, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 in the second round of Morocco in 2022. Shapovalov faces Taro Daniel of Japan in round two. Shapovalov previously beat Daniel 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the second round of the 2019 Australian Open, and 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of Dubai in 2022.