WHAT’S ON PARIBAS OPEN

BIANCA Andreescu pictured herself as BNP Paribas Open champion so many times during the tournament that actually winning it should have come as no great surprise but the Canadian wildcard was still stunned by Sunday’s victory over Angelique Kerber.

The 18-year-old, who relies heavily on meditation and visualisation techniques to get her mental game in shape, had to dig deep against three-times Grand Slam champion Kerber and found another gear late on to claim the 6-4 3-6 6-4 win.

She said she had visualised winning the tournament prior to the match, where the unseeded wildcard won her first career title despite playing with an injured right shoulder and cramp.

“It’s crazy to think that it became a reality today.”

She said the key to the match came during a visit with her coach when she was trailing 3-2 in the third set.

“After I spoke to my coach I just let it all out there,” she said. “At that point I was really tired, so I went for my shots more, and that obviously worked. The next couple of games I did the same thing.

“And I just fought till the end, because physically I wasn’t feeling too well.”

Not being 100 percent fit is nothing new for Andreescu.

She missed six months in 2016 with stress fractures in her foot and was sidelined last year with back problems.

“A year ago, during this period, I had been struggling a lot with my tennis and with my body too. So it’s crazy what a year can do,” she added.

She said she tries to stay positive when dealing with injury setbacks like the foot fractures, which required her to practice hitting on the court while wheeling around in an office chair.

Those sessions helped her develop her drop shot, which she used to great effect in Sunday’s final. |