Bianca Andreescu was looking to make history on Thursday night in New York, as she was hoping to become the first Canadian player to reach the final at the US Open.
Andreescu, who is playing in her maiden US Open, is only the fourth female player to reach the semi-finals in her debut at Flushing Meadows, joining Venus Williams, Pam Shriver and Chris Evert.
Standing in her way was the 22-year-old Belinda Bencic of Switzerland. This was the first meeting between the two young guns.
Andreescu experienced some difficulties on serve in the first set, winning only 32% of her points on second serve. She saved six break points in the opener to bring it to a tiebreak, where she stepped on the gas to take a quick lead. Although Bencic put up an effort for a comeback, Andreescu walked away with the first set.
The Canadian ran into trouble early in the second, going down two early breaks. Trailing 4-1, she was able to claw her way back, one point at a time. There were times in the match when she seemed to be lacking some energy, but then she would pull out some brilliant shot making to the delight of the crowd and the fans back home. Her mental strength, which has become her trademark, was on full display on in her match on Thursday.
With the full support of Canada behind her (#SheTheNorth was the No. 1 trending hashtag in Canada), Andreescu made history and booked her spot in Saturday’s final thanks to a 7-6(3), 7-5 victory over Bencic. In a Rogers Cup rematch, she will face Serena Williams for the title.
“It’s just surreal, I don’t know what to say. It’s crazy,” stated a speechless Andreescu during her on court interview.
The last time a Canadian player reached the final at a Grand Slam was Milos Raonic back in 2016 when he finished runner-up to Andy Murray at Wimbledon.
SOURCE: Tennis Canada
Photo by: Mauricio Paiz
Leave a Reply