Canada's Marino loses to Belgium's Mertens at Madrid Open

MADRID — 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.

Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., team up for a men's doubles match against the Colombian duo of Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah on Friday.

The two Canadians play their first singles matches on Saturday with Auger-Aliassime facing Serbian Dusan Lajovic, and Shapovalov meeting China's Zhang Zhizhen in the Round of 64.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2023.

Note to readers: Corrects spelling of Colombian in fifth paragraph