Champion’s Kiwi connection
Just a handful of people watched Bianca Andreescu’s first few matches in Auckland at the start of the season, now the whole world knows who she is.
The 19-year-old continued her incredible breakthrough season yesterday by beating Serena Williams 6-3 7-5 in the US Open final in New York to become the first player born in the 2000s to win a grand slam.
She has become the hottest property in women’s tennis and has already committed to return to January’s ASB Classic and New Zealand could become her regular destination each year before the Australian Open.
When it was recently announced that Andreescu was coming back to New Zealand, the Canadian spoke about how much the Classic meant to her.
‘‘It all started in Auckland for me,’’ Andreescu said. ‘‘I had high expectations starting the season but to beat Caroline [Wozniacki] and Venus [Williams] in my first week was unbelievable.
‘‘It has just been such an amazing year. I feel really comfortable with my game at the moment and for me, that really did start in Auckland.
‘‘I can’t wait to get back. It is such a nice way to start the season and who knows, maybe I can go one better.’’
In this year’s final of the Classic, Andreescu lost 2-6 7-5 6-1 to Julia Goerges.
It’s usually the case at the Classic that the crowd cheers for the bigger name stars. But Andreescu won over New Zealand fans with her on-court enthusiasm and aggressive style.
The final against Goerges was Andreescu’s eighth match in as many days and it was clear she was running on empty in that third set.
But it was also apparent that Andreescu was destined for greatness, just as it was when a young Rafael Nadal got to the final in Auckland in 2004.
For Classic tournament director Karl Budge it was a win/win situation for him watching the US Open final as he has also secured Williams for next year’s tournament.
‘‘It’s a proud day for the ASB Classic,’’ Budge said. ‘‘We’re going to have probably the greatest female athlete of all time and the most talked about one right now coming to Auckland.’’
When Andreescu came to New Zealand, she was ranked 152 in the world.
Her first round qualifying match was the second scheduled on the grandstand court, against Kristina Kucova from Slovakia, and she won it 6-2 6-0.
There were no more than 50 people watching and as it was being played at the same time as the main draw was taking place, no media were watching her.
It wasn’t until she beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-4 in the second round of the main draw that people started to take notice of her. She then went on to beat Venus Williams and the third seed, Hsieh Su-Wei, on her way to the final.
Not even born when Serena Williams won the first of six titles in New York in 1999, Andreescu defied the doubters with an extraordinary baseline barrage as Wil
liams again crumbled under pressure trying to match Margaret Court’s record tally of 24 grand slam singles titles.
It was the fourth consecutive grand slam final defeat for the American since returning from maternity leave after the birth of her daughter Olympia in September 2017.
But this one will likely hurt most with Williams injury free and finally back to full fitness, adamant pre-match she’d never been better prepared to return to the grand slam winners’ circle.
‘‘Being able to play on this stage against Serena, a true legend in this sport, is amazing.’’
Bianca Andreescu
After also falling to Naomi Osaka in last year’s final and to Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep in the past two Wimbledon finals, time may be running out for Williams – who turns 38 this month – to catch Court. But she was gracious in defeat. ‘‘Bianca played an unbelievable match, so congratulations. I’m so proud and happy for you,’’ Williams said.
Andreescu took charge early in the final, going up by a set and two breaks, then held off a late charge by Williams.
‘‘Being able to play on this stage against Serena, a true legend in this sport, is amazing,’’ said Andreescu, who was appearing in her first major final, while Williams was in her 33rd. ‘‘Oh, man, it wasn’t easy at all.’’