New York: Teenager Bianca Andreescu said Saturday’s US Open final triumph felt all the more rewarding after a 2018 qualifying defeat left her feeling particularly low and languishing outside the world’s top 200.
This time last year a despondent Andreescu was at home nursing an injury and coming to terms with a second successive failed attempt at making the main draw in the US Open tennis tournament here.
“It’s definitely a process of life. You’re never going to have ups all the time. So I think in those moments, you just have to deal with it the best that you can, which is to just keep fighting for your dreams and just stay as persistent and persevere as much as you can,” Bianca Andreescu said after the match.
“I know in those moments you feel like you can’t. But if you believe that there are good times ahead, then those tough moments are definitely worth it. I think it builds you as a character. I think everyone should go through it because it just makes you stronger,” added the Canadian teenager.
Twelve months on and the 19-year-old was hoisting aloft the US Open trophy as Canada’s first Grand Slam singles champion, and the youngest Major winner since Svetlana Kuznetsova here in 2004.
“This wasn’t the only time I visualized playing in the finals actually against Serena Williams. It’s so crazy, man,” said an emotional Andreescu, briefly pausing to collect her thoughts.
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment for the longest time. Like I said, after I won the Orange Bowl (in 2015), a couple months after, I really believed that I could be on this stage. “Since then, honestly I’ve been visualising it almost every single day. For it to become a reality is just so crazy. I guess these visualisations really, really work,” added Andreescu.
Andreescu will break into the top five Monday after her remarkable breakthrough run at Flushing Meadows, where she scooped a winner’s check for an eye-watering $3.85 million, taking her 2019 earnings to over $6 million. She started the year with career winnings of just $215,888.
“I’ve said this many, many times before. I’m going to say it again. It’s been a goal of mine to inspire many people, especially Canadian athletes,” Andreescu, born in the Toronto suburbs to Romanian parents, stated.
“I think that this win will hopefully do that, not only this win but just what I’ve accomplished this past year because so many Canadian athletes have paved the way for me when I was young. Hopefully I can be that person to them,” added Andreescu.
Agencies