Bianca Andreescu, the first Canadian to ever win the Roger’s Cup, is emotionally overwhelmed at her win on the 11th of August 2019. It has been a roller coaster year for Andreescu and her victory in Toronto demonstrated she’s not going to stop with this win. Although, the win wasn’t exactly as we all thought it would be, the unfortunate circumstances for Serena Williams made it so.
After only 19 minutes and a great deal of buildup, Williams retired in the first set of the final after falling behind by 3-1 to the Canadian teenager. Tearfully, Williams forfeited and claimed she tried but her back spasms were making it unbearable.
“It started yesterday in my match and it just got worse,” Williams told reporters later, referencing her semifinal win over Marie Bouzková. “Just my whole back just completely spasmed, and to a point where I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t really move. And so I was just trying to figure out, how do you play a match where you have no rotation?”
It took guts and courage to come all this way to the finals with such serious injuries and Andreescu realised this when she applauded Williams for her efforts: “I’ve watched (Williams) play my whole life. She’s a champion and she’s an inspiration on and off the court”.
With the victory on Sunday, Andreescu shot up to No. 14 in the tour rankings. The Mississauga, Ontario native was 27th last week after finishing the 2018 season ranked 178th. She has gone 38-5 this season, and Sunday’s win was her 17th straight in matches that have been completed and she isn’t satisfied yet.
Speaking of champions, Rafael Nadal – with a career record of 86 matches won and only 2 lost at the French Open – also won his fifth Rogers Cup title, beating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-0 in just 70 minutes in Montreal at breezy IGA Stadium. Sunday was a very busy day indeed for all these tennis champions.
Andreescu is now currently preparing for the US Open and is not taking any chances. She’s decided to forgo the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio. The U.S. Open, which is the final Grand Slam of the season, starts Aug. 26 in New York. Despite her recent escalation to success, Andreescu isn’t letting the pressure and tension get to her.
While she remains grounded in her work ethic and her ability to come back from injury, her victory at the Rogers Cup has given her a boost ahead of the U.S. Open.
“Now with this win, especially after coming back from being two months off, I think it’s really giving me confidence to do really well in the U.S. Open. I really do believe that I can to do big things there.” We’ll see soon enough whether Andreescu is destined to become a world-renowned tennis champion or not.
