LONDON | For Bianca Andreescu, what looked like a picnic on the London lawn on a beautiful summer afternoon took an unexpected turn midway through the second set when the Canadian suddenly lost control of her shots as her rival gained confidence.
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Although Andreescu gave her fans as much warmth as the sun beating down at Wimbledon on Friday, it was ultimately her who, thanks to a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7) win over Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, made it into the third round moved in, the 26th favourite.
keep fighting
The tenacious 23-year-old Ontario didn’t let down either that lead lost in the second set, or the lead she conceded against Kalinina in the final set, resulting in a 5-2 lead for the game. “Ukrainian and what allowed him to serve for the game.
On the contrary, Andreescu persevered, as she often did in her career, especially in her best sequences.
After becoming a specialist in the art of winning in three sets, despite her own will, she regained her shine in the latter games of the game, even though it took four match points to reach the third round at the All England Club, a first for the Canadian .
“I have the impression that she really raised her level in the second set and analyzed the 50th best player in the world in front of the journalists. In the third set, when I was 2-5 down, I thought I had to keep fighting.”
“I told myself it’s not over until it’s over,” Andreescu added, clenching his fist with a smile on his face.
Memories of 2019
Fully aware that she was about to wrap up, the Canadian howled with delight as the last point was played before making the sign of the cross on the small number 16 field, which only has around 250 spectators .
But the pitch doesn’t matter, while Andreescu felt like she had put on a performance like she did in the biggest stadiums in 2019, this year she triumphed at Indian Wells, in Toronto and of course at the US Open. A season that saw her finish fourth in the WTA, which is her best finish to date.
“A game like this can definitely bring me back to the same mindset [qu’en 2019], she raised. It’s really satisfying, so I’m very, very happy about it.”
“Psychologically, it’s important to keep living that type of experience. […] I think it will do me a lot of good,” the young player continued.
Opposite the finalist
Andreescu now meets Tunisian Ons Jabeur, sixth seed and second place last year in London. A player for whom the Canadian has great respect, both on the field [«c’est sûr qu’elle ne me rendra pas la tâche facile», a-t-elle dit] only by his words outside of it.
“She’s a player who speaks a lot about women’s rights in tennis and women’s rights in general, which I love,” said Andreescu, who was released around 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday. East will face them at the Central.