Canada’s Rebecca Marino out of Madrid Open with straight-sets loss to Mertens

Canada’s Rebecca Marino is out of the Madrid Open in the Round of 64 after losing Thursday in straight sets to Elise Mertens of Belgium, 6-3, 6-1.

Marino, of Vancouver, had five double faults and won 49 per cent of her first serves and 22 per cent of her second serves in the match. Mertens, ranked 24th, had three aces and won 72 per cent of her first-serve points.

Bianca Andreescu of Toronto opens her tournament against China’s Wang Xiyu in the Round of 64 on Friday. Andreescu hasn’t played since sustaining two torn ligaments in her left ankle at the Miami Open in late March.

Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani play American Sofia Kenin and Poland’s Magda Linette in Round of 32 doubles play Friday morning.

On the men’s side, Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., also play on Friday. Shapovalov takes on China’s Zhang Zhizhen, while Auger-Aliassime’s Round of 64 opponent is to be determined. The Canadian pair will also team up for doubles match against the Columbian duo of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

Russian teen wins again

Meanwhile, after another impressive victory, Mirra Andreeva patiently took photos with some fans who looked young enough to be her classmates in high school.

Moments earlier, the 15-year-old Russian had been raising her arms by the net to celebrate her win over a top-20 opponent.

Andreeva, a day after defeating 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez for her first tour-level win, beat 14th-ranked Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6 (6), 6-3 to advance to the third round on Thursday.

With her win over Fernandez, Andreeva became the third-youngest player to win a main-draw match at a WTA 1000 tournament, behind Coco Gauff and CiCi Bellis, and only the second 15-year-old to defeat a top-50 opponent at a WTA 1000 tournament.

With her victory on Thursday, Andreeva became the seventh-youngest player since 2000 to defeat a top-20 opponent before the age of 16. The Russian’s birthday is on Saturday.

She has won 15 straight matches in all levels and earlier this year became the first player to win two or more W60 titles before the age of 16.

Andreeva will next face either Marketa Vondrousova or Magda Linette for a place in the round of 16 of the clay-court tournament.

Gauff, Sakkari among other advancing

Another teenager who had advanced to the second round in Madrid, 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova, lost 6-0, 6-3 to 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. The 58th-ranked Fruhvirtova is the youngest player inside the top 100.

Sixth-seeded Gauff reached the third round with a comfortable 6-4, 6-1 win over Irene Burillo Escorihuela. The American will next face home-crowd favourite Paula Badosa, who defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Three-time Madrid Open champion Petra Kvitova lost 7-6 (9), 6-1 to Jule Niemeier, while ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari defeated Dutch qualifier Arantxa Rus 6-4, 6-4.

In the men’s draw, Dominic Thiem defeated Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-1 to set up a second-round match against fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas.