Bianca Andreescu - the difficult way back
Bianca Andreescu is not really on the right track. The Canadian also failed in her first match at the WTA Tour 500 tournament in Chicago.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Sep 30, 2021, 06:52 am
A little more than two years ago, Bianca Andreescu seemed unstoppable on the way to the absolute top of the world: The Canadian had followed her tournament victories in Indian Wells and Montreál with triumph at the US Open, where Serena Williams had no chance in the final. This was followed by the first appearance at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, where Andreescu signed off with an injury. The absence from tennis lasted longer, the corona regulations for the WTA world rankings alone prevented a crash in the charts.
At the moment Andreescu is listed there at position 20, which her results actually no longer show. Reaching the final in Miami was worth honoring, but there she had to give up in the final against Ashleigh Barty in the second set. At the US Open a few weeks ago, the round of 16 against Maria Sakkari ended in a match that Bianca Andreescu could have won. In Miami, she had defeated the Greek in the semifinals in the tie-break of the third set.
Raducanu on the trail of Andreescu and Osaka
Now, in a few days, the title defense in Indian Wells is due, almost two and a half years after the last ball played there. Andreescu is certainly not traveling as a favorite, and above all she lacks self-confidence and this particular cheek, which she recognized in 2019 in the best sense of the word. The dress rehearsal in Chicago went completely wrong, against Shelby Rogers the end came in the first match. To save the honor: Rogers is in good shape, defeated Ashleigh Barty at the top of the world rankings at the US Open.
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Is there still something in the self-proclaimed “fifth major” for Bianca Andreescu? But yes! The mix at the top of women's tennis is very confusing, Barty and Naomi Osaka will be missing, the logical favorite Aryna Sabalenka has failed in this role several times, most recently at the US Open to Leylah Fernandez.
Maybe Bianca Andreescu is also looking with particular interest in her young compatriot and Emma Raducanu, who Fernandez defeated in New York City in the final. Raducanu's triumph at the US Open can easily be put in line with that of Andreescu 2019 and Naomi Osaka a year earlier. However, Osaka had also triumphed in Indian Wells before the coup at Flushing Meadows. Emma Raducanu would have to deliver that first.