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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday October 9, 2021

 
Bianca Andreescu

Two-plus years after her stunning Indian Wells debut, Bianca Andreescu's title defense begins.

Photo Source: Getty

Two and a half years ago tennis fans were just beginning to get wind of the talented Bianca Andreescu, a Canadian with an intriguing game, a penchant for early morning meditation, and a knack for shaking up tennis’ status quo.

Little did they know how high she would fly.

Tennis Express

Andreescu, who started the 2019 season at 152 in the world, had qualified for the main draw at Auckland and reached all the way to the final. That performance opened eyes, as did her first main draw win at a major at that year’s Australian Open. But nobody could be prepared for what happened in March of that year, when Andreescu stormed to her first WTA title, defeating four Top-20 players to become the youngest champion at Indian Wells since Serena Williams in 1999.

It was just the beginning: Six months later the Canadian, then 19, would become the first player in history to win the US Open on her main draw debut.

Two years after that US Open title, Andreescu is still seeking her top form again, after a year’s worth of momentum-stabbing injury setbacks.


She made her return to the tour this February after missing a full year and enters the main draw at Indian Wells with a record of 16-11 on the season. Andreescu told reporters before the tournament that she is learning to focus on the present and not pressure herself too much to repeat the magic of her 2019 season.

“The main thing this year for me was to stop looking in the past, because that’s what I was doing a lot and that’s what was really ruining me,” said Andreescu. “I would always tell myself, ‘Oh, I want to play like I did in 2019 – why aren’t I playing like I used to?’ But then I really had to switch that mindset and start focusing in the present because the past is the past.

Andreescu has proven to be open to change, as she has added coach Sven Groeneveld, who formerly guided Maria Sharapova and many others, and added a new fitness trainer, Abdul Sillah, who once trained Naomi Osaka. She appears to be trending north, but hasn't donned her superwoman cape in 2021, at least not yet.

On Saturday Andreescu took another step, winning her eighth consecutive match at Indian Wells by battling past Alison Riske, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2.

She will face Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in the third round as she seeks to build some momentum for what is to come. Recreating the magic of her 2019 run would go a long way to replenish the confidence of a player that has gone from next big thing to off the radar and back again in the last two years.

For now, she’s happy to take it one step at a time, not dwelling on the past, but living for the future.

 

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