‘Everyone cries sometimes’
Andreescu overcomes one challenge after another in return to court
Not just muscle memory but grit recall.
All of it came flooding back to Bianca Andreescu, body and soul, at the Australian Open. And awash with relief. Following a 15-month layoff induced by the coupling of a meniscus tear and a global pandemic, Andreescu unspooled “vintage” Bianca — if that adjective can be used to describe a 20-year-old – to prevail in three sets over Mihaela Buzarnescu on opening day at Melbourne Park, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
The young woman from Mississauga hadn’t played Grand Slam tennis since raising the trophy at the U.S. Open on Sept. 7, 2019. And, as she admitted after the match but not before, there had been a jangle of anxiety. So much so that, on the eve of her return to the courts, she’d had a good cathartic sob.
“Last night I did cry and I’m not afraid to say that, because everyone cries sometimes. But it’s a good release for me because in my head all I was thinking about were the last 15 months and how tough they were — tough for many reasons, COVID being one of them, and then my knee injury. Just other personal issues as well. It wasn’t necessarily easy, but I got through them.”
For all the mental visioning exercises Andreescu does, putting herself in that imaginary tableau where every shot kisses the line and each groundstroke is a killer winner, proof of fitness and form can only be measured when the rubber hits the hardcourt road.
“I was really, really nervous. Not only that but just overwhelmed, because first of all I had the emotions of just being so happy and grateful to be back on the court, healthy, and then also the nervousness of, oh, if I win, if I lose. Obviously I want to win so I tried not to pay too much attention to that, which is easy to say. But to me that was my goal. It was just to feel super happy on the court and just grateful to be back.” Andreescu came out Monday (Sunday night Toronto time) against the lucky loser Romanian clearly stoked and utterly dominant in a 30-minute first set, letting loose every shot in her varied arsenal. Buzarnescu adjusted to Andreescu’s patterns, however, as the match elevated to a more challenging encounter. A former top-20 player, Buzarnescu showed her own mettle, mirroring her opponent’s pace and power from the baseline.
“I made some stupid errors … but Mihaela also did pick up her game, so I have to give her creds for that. I don’t want to be too hard on myself. It’s my first match back” since the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, October 2019, where she retired with the knee injury. Round one Down Under turned into an echo of that breakout season two years ago, when Andreescu played 19 three-setters leading up to Flushing Meadows, winning 14 of them. In the third frame, down triple break point at 3-3, 0-40, Andreescu relocated her rhythm. She landed her first serve and constructed three perfect points to hold serve, then immediately broke in the next game and coolly closed it out at love with an overhead smash on match point.
“After the match I sat down with my team a little bit, and I’m like, oh guys, here we go again, those three-setters. They just started laughing because they obviously knew what they were getting themselves into.”
Coach Sylvain Bruneau urged Andreescu to remember her 2019 triumph over Angelique Kerber in the Indian Wells final, when first she made a declamatory statement about her I’m-a-coming game. “I had that same kind of a roller coaster of a match, was down 40love on my serve in the third set. I was thinking about how calm I was during that match, so I was telling myself, oh, stay calm, stay cool, just put your first serve in ... which I did.”
In the reflecting rearview mirror, Andreescu took encouragement from withstanding a three-set tilt straight out of the chute. “Those matches are super-good for me because it really shows that I can scramble when I really need to, or if there’s some pressure I can dig my way through it somehow. Like, when my back is — what’s that expression?” Back against the wall. “Yeah, against the wall. Not only today but throughout my last couple of tournaments in 2019, I’ve been able to pull through with those.”
Through into round two Wednesday against the crafty Hsieh Su-Wei, who played her best match of the season to defeat U.S. Open quarterfinalist Tsvetana Pironkova, 7-5, 6-2.
Before then, Andreescu will take the measure of how her body responds to the grind of a real match.
“I feel surprisingly well. I had an ice bath, I did those recovery boots and then playing in a Grand Slam you have the day off tomorrow. I’m going to practise a little bit, but that definitely helps.”
Overall, it was a near-perfect first day for Canadians Down Under, as Denis Shapovalov, Milos Raonic and Félix AugerAliassime all won their opening matches. Leylah Annie Fernandez, however, lost to 18th-seeded Elise Mertens in straight sets, with Vasek Pospisil still to come.
A close and arduous thing, though, for Shapovalov, surviving a five-set epic with Jannik Sinner. The Italian teenager was fresh off capturing his second ATP Tour title at the Great Ocean Road Open — scarcely had time to catch his breath — which extended his win streak to 10 matches. Shapovalov had lost six in a row.
With his mother-coach in the stands and spectators allowed back into the facility, the 21year-old from Richmond Hill dropped his first set as the young men waged a battle that stretched to three hours and 55 minutes, Shapovalov clinching victory with a forehand winner up the line. Sixty-four winners in all and particularly sharp at the net, winning 74 cent of those points.
“Today was, I think, incredible tennis from both of us. Jannik is super-talented, such an amazing player. I’m sure he’s going to be a very, very tough opponent in the future.”
Projections here of a long rivalry looming.
A bit weird for Shapovalov, being the older player on the court for a rare change.
“It’s definitely not often that that’s been the case. For me it was kind of like, let’s see what this guy can bring to the table. Different being the older guy. I think I used that to my advantage, especially in these five-set matches.”
Shapovalov asked for a break and had some words with the umpire after Sinner evened the match in the fourth set.
“Just blowing off steam, just kind of cooling my head and getting rid of it. But also … I’ve got the smallest bladder ever. I’ve literally got to take a piss every set. I got to pee, man.”
Shapovalov next faces Australian Bernard Tomic, another former top-20 player.
“Bernard has been a great player and he is a really tough opponent. He has a great serve and is super solid from the back.
“It is definitely going to be another tricky match.”