Saturday, August 10, 2019
B. ANDREESCU/S. Kenin
6-4, 7-6
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. First straight-set victory at this tournament. In what ways was this match more challenging than the previous ones, particularly in dealing with your nerves and trying to make the Rogers Cup final in your hometown?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, at 5-2 it’s hard not to think about what is going to happen next. I mean, I’m one game away from winning. I think that threw me off a little bit.
And at 6-5, I was really nervous. I’m not going to lie. So many thoughts was going through my head. I tried to stay as calm as possible, and I think that really helped today.
Q. After you won the match, you covered your face, dropped to your knees, laid on the court for a bit. What was running through your mind when you had such an emotional reaction?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, the reason why I was really emotional was because of all the emotions I had during that tiebreaker. I think my body just wanted to let it all out. And also because it’s just so incredible that I’m in the finals right now of Rogers Cup. I had zero expectations coming into this tournament.
And just with all that I’ve been through. The past couple of months have been so, so, so, so tough. So just being able to be here right now is truly incredible.
Q. You have a chance tomorrow to become the first Canadian woman in 50 years to win the Rogers Cup and Canadian Open tennis tournament. How does that make you feel and is that putting additional pressure on you?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, for sure there’s some pressure, but I have nothing to lose, really. Like I said, I didn’t expect to be in the Rogers Cup final, but I’m just — we’ll see how it goes.
I’m just going to try to stay in the present moment. I know there’s going to be many, many thoughts going through my mind, but hopefully I can go all the way through.
Q. Have you ever heard of Faye Urban, the woman who won it?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yes, I have.
Q. You might have answered the first question, but overall what is it like to close out a match? Because I feel like a lot of people don’t necessarily have that kind of pressure to win a match, or what is going through your mind when you’re trying to close out?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: A lot. Especially here at the Rogers Cup when the crowd is for you, there’s obviously some additional pressure. But I try to channel that pressure into something good. I think it pumps me up even more.
And really having the crowd behind me this week, I’m really thankful for that because, without their support, I don’t think I would have been in the finals this week.
Q. I wonder how you’ll spend the rest of today? Will you stick around and watch the other women play? You talked a lot about studying other opponents this week. What will you do the rest of today?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: That was the last thing on my mind, but, yeah, I guess I’ll watch it. What time is it at?
Q. An hour.
BIANCA ANDREESCU: In an hour? I’ll be in the treatment room, but I’ll watch on TV for sure.
Q. At 4-All in the first set, you were trailing 15-40, you come back with some big points to win that, and then you win the next game to take the second set 6-4. What are you telling yourself in those moments and what sparked that run for you?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: I try not to tell myself anything because there’s already so many thoughts going through my mind.
Like I said, I just try to stay as calm as possible because I know I have — I can have a lot of anger in me. So I try to stay as calm as possible and just focus on the tactics I want to perform.
Q. When you play Sonya, there’s a lot of cat-and-mouse points and battles that you have. But once again your feel today with the drop shots in the front of the court when she’s trying to be a wall, you were better at that today. Just your whole thoughts on just being able to win that tactical battle that you two have, because you guys are both feisty competitors on the court.
BIANCA ANDREESCU: It’s always nice to go into a match with someone like Sofia. She’s an incredible fighter and she never gives up. So it’s a pleasure for me to share a court with someone like that because I think it pushes me even harder to do better.
So, yeah, it was definitely a game of cat and mouse today. We were drop-shotting each other, we were coming to the net, all that stuff. So it’s never easy to play someone like that.
But I think I did it a little bit better today, and thankfully in two sets.
Q. You have referred a couple times to all that you have been through over the past couple months with the shoulder and all that. Do you recall specifically a low point, a point at which you maybe thought maybe this isn’t going to come around, maybe my shoulder isn’t going to get better, or maybe this is just too hard to try to go through all of this to come back?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, when I got reinjured, for sure I was the most upset I have ever been because I thought I was doing the right things. But I’m a pretty optimistic person. So I just try to look at the best in every scenario, and that’s what I did.
I changed a lot of things, and those things didn’t come easy to me. I had to make a lot of decisions too. But in the end, it’s all worth it.
Q. How closely will you watch the other semifinal tonight and have you thought at all about potentially who you could be facing in the final tomorrow?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah. Whoever it is, I’ll be ready. Watch out. (Laughing.)
Yeah, I’m going to watch them. I’m going to watch them play. I’ve played Marie two times this year already, so I know what to expect from her. And I’ve watched Serena play so many times. It would be really cool to play Serena.
But, I mean, anything can happen tonight, so I’m ready for anything.
Q. You were just talking about having come into this tournament without any expectations. I remember you saying in Auckland, way back at the start of this year after you beat Venus that you felt like you had done the impossible. You said also after winning Indian Wells you didn’t necessarily expect coming into that tournament that you would be able to win it. What does it feel like to be able to consistently surprise yourself?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I’m definitely surprising myself. I don’t realize the things I can do on the court. My coach is always telling me that I’m a champion within. But I guess — I don’t know. Maybe I am starting to realize that slowly.
But at this point, I don’t want to take anything for granted. I mean, there’s going to be weeks where you’re going to lose.
And right now I’m doing pretty well, so hopefully I can keep the momentum going for the rest of the season like that.
Q. If it is Serena, what do you think it’s going to be like and what’s that going to add to the whole experience for you?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, it’s going to be an amazing experience, for sure, playing a legend, 20 time Grand Slam champion; is that right?
Q. 23.
BIANCA ANDREESCU: Oh, 23. My bad. That’s Federer, I think, 20.
Yeah, it would be an honor to share the court with her. But when I go out there, like I said, I’m fearless. So hopefully that will be the case when I play her.
Q. On the court you were talking a little bit about your parents and how emotional this has been on them and this journey that they’ve been on with tennis with you. Can you talk about that and what they’ve gone through and what this means to them as well?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: Definitely. I’m the only child, so they’ve been going through everything for the first time like I am. So we’ve been doing it together for the longest time.
Ever since I moved back to Canada to pursue my game, we’ve been sacrificing a lot of things. But I don’t necessarily call it a sacrifice because this is what I wanted to do.
And we all dedicated everything we had to this sport. It wasn’t easy. There’s always ups and downs like in anything.
But they’ve been supporting me with every decision that I’ve made. They’ve been honest with me, telling me how it is when I don’t want to hear it, obviously.
And all I can say is that all that hard work, dedication, and sweat is all worth it in the end. Nothing beats this feeling.
