Entrevue : Bianca Andreescu (d. Bertens) (EN)

Thursday, August 8, 2019
B. ANDREESCU/K. Bertens
6-1, 6-7, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. So you seem to have a special knack for pulling it out when you really have to. What’s going on in your mind when you’re doing that?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, these last three matches were pretty crazy, but that’s just how tennis goes. You have to find a way.

Sometimes you’re not going to play your best tennis, so you just have to find a way with what you have that day. And I think that’s what I’ve been doing these past couple matches.

Q. You’re one of five Canadian women to make the Rogers Cup quarterfinals. Where you have been the previous five months, only playing one match, struggling with injury, does this make this feat extra special for you?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, of course. Being off for that long and coming into the Rogers Cup and getting into the quarterfinals means so much to me.

But at the same time, I’m not surprised because I’ve been playing a lot of matches, especially at the beginning of the year. So I gained a lot of experience from that.

And this time off actually really helped me. I figured a lot of things out and it’s showing on the court.

Q. How would you assess your performance today compared to your first two matches of the tournament? And does making the quarterfinals exceed even your expectations given how much time you’ve missed?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Today, I think I played better than my other matches, especially in the first set. I was on top of the ball, every ball. My serve was really effective as well.

But as expected, Kiki came back. That’s what top players do. They try to figure out what was going wrong. And she flipped the switch a little bit in the second set, and the same thing in the third set. I was up 4-1, and then she started playing better. I let my guard down just a little bit.

But I’m really happy with how everything turned out in the end. I just fought and that’s all that matters to me.

Q. Through all this success that you’ve been having, what’s been one of the biggest sacrifices you have made to kind of get to where you are now?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I don’t really call them a sacrifice because I chose to do this and this is what makes me the happiest. So, I really don’t consider it as a sacrifice.

But if it were, I would say I missed — I somewhat missed having the experience of being, I guess, a normal teenager. I don’t want to say it in that way, but that’s kind of what it is.

But I really don’t regret it whatsoever because this is what I love to do.

Q. You played three very stylistically different players through these first three rounds.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yes.

Q. What sort of adjustments have you had to make and with the short turnarounds how much game planning can really go into that and how much is just adapting on the fly?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Being prepared is the best thing, the best weapon you can have.

Before matches, I always study my players, my coaches as well. And we always make sure to sit down before the match just to go over the game plan. Because if you perform the right tactics, if you know your opponent really well, then you have more chances of winning. So that’s what I’ve been doing.

And, yeah, these past three matches were very different from each other, but it’s just little tweaks between matches that I make because, like I said, they’re different players.

Q. Coming into this week, what would you have said would be a good performance from you and does that change at all now?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: This is a pretty damn good performance I’ve been putting up right now. I wasn’t expecting it, really. I had zero expectations going into this. I was just really happy to be back on court.

But I can’t complain right now, so maybe I should just have zero expectations and everything will be fine.

Q. You said that you’re aiming to win Rogers Cup. Would Simona be one of your most favorite opponents to play against in the final, and how special would your parents and Coco being there be for you?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I mean, I really look up to Simona. She’s an incredible athlete, player, and person. So, yeah, playing her would mean a lot.

Yeah, just coming from Romanian roots, it would be a huge thing in Romania for sure.

Q. A lot of times when a player takes a long layoff, when they come back to their first big event, they don’t really know where their game is in match and also against competition. So how much were you doubting a little bit whether your game was there at the start of this event? And then the second question is what has been your hype jam throughout the tournament?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: To answer your first question, before the tournament I was feeling really good. Just practicing, I felt like I didn’t really lose much feel of the ball. But practice and matches are totally different thing. So I was just going out there and I tried to implement what I’ve been working on, and it’s been showing. So I’m really pleased with that.

And I’m pleased with how my body is holding up, as well, especially after yesterday’s match. If anyone had that question, I already answered it. You’re welcome. (Smiling.)

And my hype up jam for this tournament would be Ric Flair Drip by, I think, The Migos.

Q. You faced I believe eight break points in the second set. You were able to save triple break point on one game and double break point on another. What is going through your mind as you’re going through the crucial moments of the match where you feel like if Kiki breaks serve obviously the whole outcome of the match could turn out a lot different.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, her serve is very, very good. I made sure to hold as much as possible.

Honestly, can you repeat that question? Because I don’t know what you asked me.

Q. Yeah. You saved break points a number of times in the second set. What is going through your mind as you’re trying to hold serve and not let the door open or Kiki get back into the match?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: All I can say is that I just try to stay in the moment as much as possible. I know she has a really good serve, but I also have a really good serve sometimes.

So I just tried to hold as much as I can, because her serve is, like I said, really good.

Q. What do you think when you reflect on everything you’ve accomplished in the last year and what are your hopes for the next year?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: What I’ve accomplished this year has been a dream come true. I’ve been working so hard for this moment. And all I can say is that it’s all worth it in the end because this is what I’ve dreamt of.

And, yeah, for the next couple of months — or I would say my goals for the end of the year would have to be to break the top 10. I really believe that I can do that. And play in the WTA tour finals.

Q. While you were off, what was the most frustrating moment?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Not playing and just watching everyone play and do well. It’s the worst thing for an athlete just to sit on their A-S-S for weeks.

Like, even two weeks being off really sucks, but, I mean, that’s part of the sport. That’s what I signed up for. That’s what every athlete signs up for. It’s just how you bounce back and the way you deal with it that really matters.

Q. You play now Pliskova tomorrow. Another big server to deal with. So just your thoughts now since you’re at this stage just to play against her and how she has to deal with your serve too.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, I guess this match was a good warmup for tomorrow’s match. I think I worked a lot on my return today.

But, yeah, I’m going to study her, study where she likes to serve to, just so I can be ready for those return games. Because every point is important, so I’m trying to get as much as I can.

Q. You were talking about studying your opponents with your team. So is there any sort of data analytics that you look at or use, or is it just about manual, you know, scouting through videos and looking at matches up front? Because today almost every sport, you know, looks at a lot of the analytics and a lot of data out there. So any thoughts on that?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, my coach has — well, knows this platform where it shows — I don’t know what it’s called, but it shows where the opponents serve and where they like to return the most.

Yes. Is it Player Analyticals?

Q. Tennis Analyticals.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Oh, Tennis Analyticals. Yes, that has been helping me so much.

Yeah, shout out to that guy.

(Laughter.)