What a year so far for Bianca Andreescu!
After winning the WTA 125K series challenger in Newport, and losing her first WTA finals ant Auckland Open in January, the 18-year-old teenager from Mississauga, Ontario, won the women’s final at the Indian Wells Open on Sunday, after beating the eighth-seeded Angelique Kerber from Germany 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, lifting her first WTA trophy!
It has been a fantastic season for the youngster, who became the first player to win the Indian Wells tournament as a wild-card entry. In addition to this remarkable feat, she won 28 out of 31 matches this season, which is again a fantastic result for someone who’ll turn 19 this June.
According to the latest WTA Tour Singles ranking, released today, the Canadian has jumped 36 spots to reach No. 24. She also won a little over $1.3 million and received praises from some of the most important names in tennis, including the legendary Australian Rod Laver.
Canadian tennis player Bianca Andreescu plays against Irina Begu from Romania during a Fed Cup match – salajean / Shutterstock.com
Many are comparing her to Naomi Osaka, who was an unknown 20-year-old when she won her first WTA title last year, and now is the No. 1 player in the world, winning the US and Australian opens along the way.
A Fantastic Achievement for the Ontario Teen
After around 40 minutes of the first set, Andreescu was leading 1-0. They both had problems with the serve, although the Canadian managed to win all of the points on her second serves. Kerber only won 55% of the second the serve, while making 14 unforced errors.
Both Andreescu and Kerber remained on the serve in the second set, while the more experienced German managed to break in the fourth game. They still held serve till the end of the set, which Kerber won 6-3.
Andreescu was nervous in the second set, which is showed by banging her racket on the court. At that time, many believed the wouldn’t be able to deal with the pressure, but she managed to keep her confidence in the final set.
Andreescu was 2-1 up when she requested medical treatment. The match continued and Kerber recorded a break to go ahead 3-2. At that moment, it looked like she would give up, but then the young Canadian showed what she was made of. She first tied the match 3-3, held her serve to go one up and then recorded another break to go 5-3!
She was serving for the title and had three championship points, but Kerber managed to get the break. But another break followed to secure Andreescu her first title!