Bianca Andreescu insisted she never relaxed against Marta Kostyuk and noted that Kostyuk starting to play much better was what got the Ukrainian back into the match. In the Hua Hin quarterfinal, first-seeded Andreescu had a dominant 6-0 5-1 lead over 60th-ranked Kostyuk.
Then all of a sudden, Andreescu lost five games in a row and was two points away from losing the second set. Luckily for Andreescu, she was able to serve out the 12th game and then win the tie-break to escape with a straight-set win.
“It seemed like it was an easy match, but it wasn’t even from the start, and I don’t think I dropped my level whatsoever. I didn’t get too down on myself and she started playing much better,” Andreescu said after the match, per Lukas Weese.
Andreescu on her win:
“It seemed like it was an easy match, but it wasn’t even from the start, and I don’t think I dropped my level whatsoever…I didn’t get too down on myself and she started playing much better”.
#ThailandOpen https://t.co/i2eSy69ELS — Lukas Weese (@Weesesports) February 3, 2023
How Andreescu beat Kostyuk
Andreescu came out firing against Kotyuk as she started off the match with three consecutive breaks and a 5-0 lead.
In the sixth game – when Andreescu was serving for the set – Kostyuk had her first break point of the match but the Canadian saved it before realizing her second set point to easily win the first set. After getting bageled in the first set, Kostyuk’s struggles continued at the start of the second set as Andreescu opened an early 2-0 lead.
In the third game, Kostyuk saved a break point and finally served out one game to get on the board. However, it didn’t take long for Andreescu to clinch her second break of the set as she broke Kostyuk again in the fifth game and led 5-1 after the first six games of the second set.
Then out of nowhere, Kostyuk claimed back-to-back breaks and won five games in a row to take a 6-5 lead. In the 12th game – when Andreescu was serving for a tie-break – it was 30/30 before the Canadian won the next two points to end Kostyuk’s run.
In the tie-break, Kostyuk opened an early 2-0 lead but Andreescu won seven of the next eight points to escape with a straight-set win.
