Canada's Andreescu advances to third round in Rome with win over Parrizas-Diaz

ROME — Canada's Bianca Andreescu advanced to the third round of the Italian Open tennis tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Spain's Nuria Parrizas-Diaz on Wednesday.

Andreescu proved to be the more opportunistic of the two in the match that took one hour 38 minutes to complete.

The native of Mississauga, Ont., cashed in on all four of her break point opportunities. Parrizas-Diaz had several chances to make those up, but Andreescu defended nine of the 12 break points she faced.

Andreescu won 61.4 per cent of her service points, compared to 53.6 per cent for Parrizas-Diaz.

Andreescu will next face Croatia's Petra Martić at the clay-court tournament. It will be the first meeting between the players.

Later Wednesday, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., faced Russia's Daria Kasatkina in a second-round match.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2021.