NEW YORK — Former champion Bianca Andreescu has withdrawn from the US Open due to injury, organisers said, after the Canadian suffered a stress fracture in her back.
Andreescu, who won the tournament in 2019, lost her opening match at the Citi Open in Washington DC last month before going down in straight sets to Camila Giorgi at the Canadian Open.
She appeared to be in discomfort against Italian Giorgi and needed to call a physiotherapist on court.
Andreescu then withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters, saying: “During my match in Washington I started experiencing pain in my back that kept getting worse and I did everything I could the other night in Montreal to play at my highest level.
“All of this led me to undergo medical examinations and sadly the results have revealed a small stress fracture in my back.”
Andreescu, 23, was scheduled to face Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko in the US Open first round.
Laura Siegemund, Mirjam Bjorklund, and Americans Sachia Vickery and Katie Volynets are among the seven players who booked spots in the 2023 US Open main draw with final-round qualifying wins.
Sweden’s Bjorklund also claimed a spot in the US Open main draw with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Ankita Raina of India. Bjorklund, who qualified for Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year, will make her US Open main-draw debut.
Elsewhere, Argentine Sebastian Baez extended his match-winning streak to nine when he survived a gruelling battle against top seed Borna Coric in the Winston-Salem Open semi-finals.
The 22-year-old, who won the ATP 250 event in Kitzbühel three weeks ago, defeated Coric 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(2) after three hours, 19 minutes.
Baez dropped just one point behind his serve in the opening set and displayed all-court coverage as he struck the ball confidently to reach his first tour-level final on hard courts.
“[The crowd’s] energy was amazing,” Baez said in his on-court interview. “Of course [I am] tired, but happy because it was a great battle. Happy to be in the final.”
After a fast start, it seemed Baez was going to cruise in the second set as well. Baez held a 3-1 lead before he suffered a nosebleed that stopped play, forcing him to visit with the physio. He then was broken in his ensuing service game before Coric raised his level to win an exciting one-hour, 23-minute second set.
“I think at that time, the match changed,” Baez said of the nosebleed. “Every point, he was better than me. After three hours, I think I have to take a rest and be focussed on tomorrow. I am happy but I have one more match.
“The fact that the match was so long and so physical and that I could have won it gives me a lot of confidence. I’m going to do my best tomorrow.”
As the match wore on, both players showed great stamina as they endured lengthy rallies, with Baez often playing deep beyond the baseline. Coric came forward to pressure Baez, but it was the the sixth seed who held his nerve in the closing stages of the match.
Though Baez won his maiden Lexus ATPHead2Head meeting against Coric, the Croatian will have another crack at the Argentine when they meet next week in the US Open first round.
“After the final I will have a few days to recover, to train, to try to adapt,” Baez said. “I want to do my best in the US Open. The game is a great preparation”.
At World No. 35 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, the Buenos Aires native will next aim for his fourth tour-level trophy against Jiri Lehecka, who advanced to the ATP 250 final after third seed Sebastian Korda withdrew following an ankle injury he suffered in Thursday’s quarter-final.
