Bianca Andreescu made an unusual request to her opponent Jasmine Paolini after Canadian tennis star was knocked out of the US Open at the hands of the fifth seed.

The 2019 US Open champion took the first set against the fifth seed but eventually ran out of gas, with Paolini securing a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 comeback victory.

Andreescu has been drawn against the Italian at every Grand Slam event she has played this year and lost on all three occasions, although this was perhaps their closest battle yet.

She was also beaten in straight sets in the third round at Wimbledon and lost in three at the French Open at the same stage of the tournament.

Despite bowing out of the first round in New York, Andreescu was in high spirits and shared a joke with her opponent when they embraced at the net.

Andreescu could be heard saying to Paolini: “Let me win next time, god!”, to which Paolini laughed and muttered “sorry” to her increasingly familiar rival.

Paolini, who reached the final at Wimbledon and Roland Garros this year, admitted she struggled to overcome Andreescu and congratulated her on making her life difficult.

“I’m exhausted now,” Paolini said post match. “It was a really tough match. She’s a great champion. We played three times this year. Every time is a battle.

“I have to say I enjoy playing here in front of this energy. This crowd is unbelievable, thank you for staying here and cheering for us. It was an unbelievable atmosphere.”

Paolini now faces Karolina Pliskova in the next round while Andreescu is left to reflect on another first-round defeat.

She was also knocked out at the first hurdle in Toronto and Cincinnati in the lead-up to Flushing Meadows, offering a clear indication that she has not yet returned to her peak after a spate of injury problems.

Andreescu has suffered from a debilitating stress fracture in her back that kept her sidelined for 10 months, not long after she had spent over a year out of action with a knee injury.

Now ranked 167th in the world, the 24-year-old is gradually making her way back up the WTA rankings after recently admitting she lost her passion for the game at one stage.

“There was a time when I lost my joy in tennis. But I found it again. And I learned that I will always love tennis deep in my heart, no matter what,” Andreescu said.

“It has given me so much. So much that whenever I leave the tunnel and step out onto the court, I always feel a bit of that magic from before. I still think that anything is possible.”