Bianca Andreescu claims home title in a shortened final

Expectations for Bianca Andreescu were certainly moderate on the part of Canadian fans when she came to Toronto to play the Rogers Cup. The reason was very simple: she had only played one match since the Miami Open in March, her first-round match at Roland Garros against Czech Marie Bouzkova. She was certainly rusty with her lack of matches and only a few people saw her go that far. But, as she has done so often this season, Bianca has managed to make us lie in the brightest of ways. Besides, her draw was far from easy. In the first round, the 19-year-old Ontarian had to face the best ranked Canadian for many years, her countrywoman Eugenie Bouchard. After an up-and-down opening set, during which she was broken from the outset, Andreescu bounced back to get the win with a 6-4 in the third set.

In the next round, Andreescu should have faced the 12th favorite, German Angelique Kerber, in a rematch of the Indian Wells' final, but was surprised by Russia's Daria Kasatkina 0-6, 6-2, 6-4. Bibi had the last word after a battle of 2 hours and 39 minutes with a score of 5-7, 6-2, 7-5.

Then, in the third round, Andreescu had a rough match awaiting her as she faced the world's No. 5, Netherlands' Kiki Bertens. After a rain delay of about an hour early in the first set, Andreescu flew over the initial heat that she won by a score of 6 to 1. Bertens came back strong in the second set and the two players offered us a top-level game, bringing the game to the tiebreaker. Andreescu had started this decisive game the right way, taking the lead 5-2*, but Bertens came from behind to win 7-6(7) and force an ultimate round. Andreescu quickly took a 4-1* lead in the third set, but Bertens came back from behind again to level at 4-all. Bianca managed to retain her serve to take the lead 5-4* and she took advantage of Bertens' double fault on her fourth match point to win 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-4.

The challenge in front of Andreescu was no easier in the quarterfinals, while the Czech Karolina Pliskova, world's No. 3, stood in her way. The darling of Canadian tennis gave us inspired and flawless tennis in the first set, which she surprisingly flew over with a score of 6-0. A bagel against the third player in the world, nothing less! Predictably, Pliskova came back strong in the second set and showed why she is the winner of 14 singles titles on the WTA Tour, winning this one 6-2. Andreescu started the final round on the wrong foot but managed to tap deep into her fuel tank to erase three break points in her first service game. The two protagonists managed to keep their service until Bianca managed to break Pliskova to take the lead *5-4. She then concluded the match by holding to love to advance in the final four.

The next day, while the rain fell in Montreal, Andreescu and the American Sofia Kenin face each other in Toronto. Kenin was also the last player to have defeated Andreescu in a complete match in Acapulco in March. The first set was uneventful until 4-all. Bibi then managed to clear a 15-40 deficit on her serve to eventually take the lead 5-4*. She then broke Kenin in the next game to win the first set 6 to 4. In the second set, Andreescu was able to break the opponent's serve and take the lead 5-2*. While serving for the match at 5-3, Bianca missed her mission, being broken back after won just one point. She then got two match points at 6-5* on Kenin's serve, but she lost both points after lengthy rallies. She finally managed to make it on her fifth match point to win 6-4, 7-6(5) and reach the final in front of her home crowd.

In the final, Andreescu had the honor of facing the winner of the 23-time Grand Slam titles, none other than Serena Williams. We were entitled to expect a great match on the Centre Court at the Aviva Centre between one of the best players in the history of women's tennis and the revelation of the year on the WTA Tour. After she missed a chance to break Williams' serve in the opening game, Andreescu picked up his second chance at 1-all, courtesy of Williams' double fault. Bianca then confirmed her break with a solid game on her serve, but the American retreated to her seat and she asked for a medical timeout. A few moments later, Williams, in tears, withdrew due to an upper back injury, offering the victory and the title to the crowd favorite.

The highlight of this premature retirement wasn't the victory itself, but the fact that Andreesci went to console her rival after her resignation, a gesture that Williams congratulated during her press conference.

With this title, Andreescu will rise from 27th to 14th in the WTA rankings. This should allow her to be among the top 16 seeds at the US Open and thus avoid the players ranked higher than her in the first week. At the same time, Andreescu confirmed that she was retiring from the Cincinnati Open, which occurs next week, to be physically ready for Flushing Meadows.

Photo credit : The Star