"I felt out of breath a lot" - Andreescu on recovering from COVID-19

Making her long-awaited return to clay after almost two years, Bianca Andreescu cruised past qualifier Andrea Lazaro Garcia in the opening round of the Internationaux de Strasbourg on Monday.

The top seed needed just 61 minutes to secure a 6-1 6-2 victory, showing no signs of rust after a six-week injury layoff. Having withdrawn due to a foot injury in the final of the Miami Open against Ashleigh Barty, Andreescu did not seem hampered as she controlled the tempo of her match against Lazaro Garcia.

“I would definitely put that match in my top five cleanest matches,” the 20-year-old said after the match. “I focused on getting 100 percent and try my best, and that’s what I did.”

After testing positive for COVID-19, the Canadian was forced to withdraw from Madrid and Rome. She gave some insight into her experience during her convalescence, citing the difficulty of training while recovering from the disease.

“It was a little bit tough, my lungs… I felt out of breath a lot. I just kept practicing, and it kept getting better,” said Andreescu, who added she was hoping to be vaccinated against Covid soon.