Calm in defeat, Canada’s Bianca Andreescu delivered an impressive testimony at a news conference after her career ended in the third round of the National Bank Open in Toronto on Thursday night.
• Also read: Nationalbank Open: Bianca Andreescu eliminated after a long fight
• Also read: National Bank Open: Andreescu weeps from the bottom of his heart
• Also read: Simona Halep’s experience makes the difference
“The match was very difficult,” she admitted. She played good tennis and I wasn’t at my best. »
Andreescu lost in three sets with 5: 7, 7: 5 and 2: 6 against the Chinese Zheng Qinwen after an almost three-hour match.
“I gave everything I could and I fought hard,” she added. In the decisive set, she scored important points that made the difference.
“Of course I would have liked to win here in Toronto because without the crowd I wouldn’t have even reached the first round. »
social media pressure
Then, in front of the journalists, she wanted to answer all those people who enjoy unreservedly denigrating her on social networks.
“Don’t let the haters get you down,” she said. believe in us It is important to be surrounded by people who support you.
“What helped me growing up was not letting others tell me my dreams were too big. »
The memory of 2019
Brilliant from the start against the eleventh batter in the world, the Russian Daria Kasatkina, who she defeated in two sets 7:6 and 6:4 on Tuesday, Andreescu brought the trainer onto the field twice during the match.
“Maybe I ate too much, she wondered, or maybe it had to do with the stress of coming back to play in front of my audience. »
In 2019 she won the National Bank Open presented in Queen City. A few weeks later, she became the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam tournament – when she defeated Serena Williams – and also the first in modern times to win a title in her first-ever appearance at Flushing Meadows.
Results that allowed him to reach fourth place in the WTA rankings in October 2019.
A cry from the heart
Andreescu might like to say that she was unaffected by the negative comments made about her, but felt it appropriate to respond to her critics, who targeted her after her two medical breaks on Tuesday.
“I apologize for my attitude and I never meant to harm or distract my opponent,” she revealed. It’s sad to see people think like that.
“We athletes are injured and sick. The last thing you want is to expend any more energy on it, especially when it’s not the truth. »
“The Greatest Diva”
At the Miami tournament in March 2019, Andreescu had drawn the wrath of Angelique Kerber, who had just eliminated her for the second time in less than a week.
During her game against the German, she had requested the intervention of a therapist to treat pain in her right arm.
At the end of the duel, after a very cold handshake, Kerber described her opponent as “the greatest diva in history”.
Andreescu, ranked 53rd in the WTA, has no plans to give up.
“I’m going to give myself three days of rest before I go back to work and come back stronger,” concluded the 22-year-old Toronto native, who appears to be trying to pull herself together at the final big meeting of the season in New York. At the end of the month.