CAUSING A RACKET
Canada’s Bianca Andreescu began 2019 on a high note by upsetting world No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki at the ASB Classic
Louis Borfiga knew right away that Canadian tennis player Bianca Andreescu was a special talent.
Andreescu started playing at Tennis Canada’s regional training centres about six years ago and her strong skill set quickly blossomed. She’s 18 now and riding high after the biggest win of her career, a stunning 6-4, 6-4 victory over world No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki on Thursday at the ASB Classic in Auckland, N.Z.
Borfiga, Tennis Canada’s vicepresident of high performance and athlete development, said Andreescu has a complete game.
“When she was 14, she had this,” he said from Montreal. “She’s had some great coaches ... The most important thing for me is to be ready for the Tour, and she’s ready for the Tour.”
Andreescu, from Mississauga, capped the second-round upset with a cross-court forehand. She worked the veteran Dane from side to side and kept the pressure on before ending the 21-shot rally.
“She’s very good (with) crosscourts, to change direction, to change the speed,” Borfiga said. “That I think is the quality of Bianca. She can do a lot of things with her technique.”
In the second set, Andreescu saved three break points in a game with seven deuces to pull even at 3-3.
After sealing the victory, she dropped her racket, bent down and put her hands over her head as she received a nice ovation from the crowd.
“Honestly, I can’t believe it right now,” she said on court. “I’ve dreamed of playing on this stage against top players and now I’m here. I’ve had a couple of back issues the past couple of months. I just fought until the end.”
The world No. 152 needed two hours, 14 minutes to complete the victory.
“She’s something special in this game,” Borfiga said. “She has solid technique. She’s very solid on the technical side and for me it’s very important to have solid technique: forehand, backhand, good volleys. Now she needs to have more experience.
“But I am very, very, very optimistic for Bianca.”
Andreescu won three qualifying matches before topping Hungary’s Timea Babos 6-4, 7-6 (6) in the first round. The Canadian will face former world No. 1 and sixth-seeded American Venus Williams in Friday’s quarter-finals. The $250,000 (U.S.) WTA Tour event is a warm-up for the Australian Open. Wozniacki won the Grand Slam tournament last year.
“I’ve pictured myself beating top players like this, and it’s really just a dream come true,” Andreescu said. “I know I have the level. (My confidence) skyrocketed like 20 times today. She was No. 1 in the world and won a Grand Slam. I just fought until the end. I was in the zone and at one point, I didn’t even know the score.
“I was really pleased with my performance. I tried to stay in the present moment, but at 5-4 in the second set, I really knew I had it then.”
It was the first time Andreescu had faced a top-10 player. The defeat for Wozniacki marked the lowest-ranked player she had lost to since 2013.