ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Bianca Andreescu delivered in her return for Canada against Kazakhstan, winning her singles match on the opening day of a two-day Billie Jean King Cup qualifier.
The Mississauga, Ont., product beat Sonja Zhiyenbayeva 6-4, 7-6 (4) to earn Canada's lone point Friday.
Andreescu, 25, was playing her first Billie Jean King Cup tie since 2022 following a string of injuries.
The 2019 U.S. Open champion erased a 0-4 deficit in the second-set tiebreak, winning seven straight points to close out the match against Zhiyenbayeva, ranked 1,023rd in the world, on the indoor clay court.
“It was definitely a tough match, but nothing surprising at this level,” said Andreescu, ranked 130th. “You expect every player to show up, so I try to stay as consistent as I can throughout the match. In this kind of environment, with the crowd behind Kazakhstan, it may have helped her in certain moments.
"But I’m happy I was able to produce that level of tennis today and really happy to get the win."
Earlier, world No. 74 Yulia Putintseva topped Kayla Cross of London, Ont., 6-3, 7-5 to give Kazakhstan the early edge.
Cross, ranked 198th, fought back from 5-1 down in the second set, saving four match points to level the set at 5-5. But after holding to retake the lead, Putintseva earned a decisive break in the 12th game.
"When I was down 5-1, having the support from my team on the side of the court really helped me keep pushing, taking it one point at a time," Cross said. "It would’ve been nice to get that second set, but the fight was really good, and I’m really proud of it."
The best-of-five tie is 1-1 heading into Saturday, with the winner advancing to September's Billie Jean King Cup finals in Shenzhen, China.
