Andreescu's toughest setback: "I was doing everything phenomenally and, suddenly.."

As time passes, many are losing hope—or at least patience—in Bianca Andreescu returning to the position in the circuit that many of us have demanded since 2019. Back then, she won the US Open to then rise to the top 5 in the world, two mirages today. At this week's WTA 1000 in Toronto, where the Canadian had the privilege of playing at home, destiny had a harsh defeat in store for her in the first round against Lesia Tsurenko, who, after losing the first set 6-0, only lost seven games in the next two sets. Obviously, Bianca's post-match press conference was quite tough.

Assessment of the match

"I think I played my best tennis during the first set, the best in a long time, but sometimes tennis kicks you in the butt. Obviously, she found her balance, she had beaten me in our recent encounters and that crossed my mind, but I think today I had a decent game plan. I believe the first set showed that, but then it evaporated, she brought back her best tennis, something I could expect. All I can say is I'm sorry I couldn't get the win for you guys, I really appreciate all the support you give me."

Hurt by the defeat

"Right now, all I can think about is how bad I feel, although it was good news to be back playing this tournament, it was great. I felt really good coming into the tournament, feeling my tennis again. Mentally, having my friends and family close is beautiful, and all the fans. I am blessed. I don't want to get discouraged, but it's so hard when you're playing the best tennis of your life, only for the match to turn around... it sucks. I don't want to be down for too long, I'll allow myself today and that's it. Tomorrow, it's time to regroup."

Turning point after the first set

"What changed was her playing style, for sure. I felt she became a wall, I couldn't break through. That made me reflect on what I was doing, something wasn't right, maybe I should be doing more. It was more of a battle with myself on what to do. Obviously, we had faced each other before, that's how she plays, but some shots weren't working for me today. When someone hits very flat and deep right in the middle, then it's hard to change the pace. My first-serve percentage also dropped a lot, so that didn't help either."

The dangers of a 6-0

"If I can play like I did in the first set, I know I can beat anyone, I just have to be consistent with that. It's funny because this tends to happen, but I don't really know why, sometimes those thoughts arise unconsciously after playing very well in the first set. You're doing everything great, and then suddenly, I curse it all. I don't know, it's something I don't even want to think about, but it's hard for me. It's an inner battle, for sure."

A matter of mentality

"I train a lot mentally for these moments, I believe you can visualize as much as you want, meditate all you want, but it doesn't prepare you for reality because anything can happen there. All you can do is prepare as best as you can, but once you're in that situation, things change. From the start of the tournament, I was thinking about what mentality to adopt because this is one of the most important events of the year for me. Should I put that pressure on myself if I want to win, or should we just have fun? During the match, I was also struggling with that, but at the end of the day, it's important to stay present. Then, once those thoughts arise, it's very hard to stop them. What I do believe is that my attitude was pretty decent, I only let out a few screams... maybe too many."

About her new coach

"I'm doing great, I have nothing bad to say about J.T. because he's truly great. I feel we have great conversations together, it's not just one-way dialogue, that's what I like. If something comes to my mind, I'll say it, and the same with him, we just figure out what works best for us in that way. I feel my game is there, it has helped me stay true to who I am, wanting to change the pace a lot and all that."

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El revés más duro para Andreescu: “Lo estaba haciendo todo fenomenal y, de repente…”