Andreescu exits with no regrets

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND As a defeated Bianca Andreescu wound her way from outlier Court 12 to the players’ sanctum — so far a distance across the grounds that she could have taken one of the uber (not Uber) iconic black London cabs — a stranger stepped in her path. He wanted a photo with her. Andreescu arranged a smile on her face and graciously obliged.

But as the young Canadian walked away, the man turned to a couple of bystanders and asked: “Who was that?”

“Bianca Andreescu.”

“Who?”

Just obviously a player in her pretty white court dress, schlepping her own bag o’ rackets, thus worthy of a celeb selfie, I guess. Sometimes

even Grand Slam champions — and Andreescu is that, from the 2019 U.S. Open — aren’t recognizable, not even to ostensible tennis fans.

The 22-year-old from Mississauga is, sadly, Wimble-done, after losing her second-round match on Thursday to 17th-seed Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan in straight sets: 6-4, 7-6 (5). Although it should be noted that the second round was the furthest Andreescu had ever advanced at the All England Club, in her fifth appearance here.

Rybakina hits hard, her balls low over the net and deep into the back of the court, which gave Andreescu difficulty in the opening set: broken in the 10th and deciding game of that frame. By the second set she had a better grasp of the challenge presented and, when broken in the second game, immediately broke, then consolidated to bring the match level at 2-2.

At that point it had not been a good day for the line judges. Thrice Rybakina challenged calls and was proved correct, the calls overturned — the Kazakh with superior hawkeye vision from some 20 metres away, as validated by Hawk-Eye technology. During the changeover, a disgusted Rybakina looked up at someone in the stands and raised three fingers — like, THREE TIMES! Could have given a single up-yours finger to the officials as well.

Andreescu double-faulted to start the sixth game but held at 3-3, releasing a loud “Come on!” Two games later, she was broken again. But serving for the match, Rybakina fell into a 15-40 hole, and Andreescu secured the break with a wicked cross-court forehand for 5-4. As someone in the crowd shouted (for no discernible reason) “Hit me baby one more time!” Andreescu served to stay in the match at 6-6, and off to a tiebreak.

A leaping backhand passing shot put Rybakina up 5-4. Andreescu’s challenge on a line call failed, a return sailed long and return into the net handed Rybakina the victory. The 23-year-old made slightly more unforced errors, but won 80 per cent of her first-serve points compared to Andreescu’s 65 per cent, blasted four aces and converted three of four breakpoint chances.

“It was a well-fought match from the both of us,” Andreescu said afterwards. “I feel like she took her opportunities a bit more than I did. She was serving well; I wasn’t serving my best.”

As composed as Andreescu appeared an hour post-match — her newly blond-streaked hair still wet from the shower, having put in a full workout before facing the media — she admitted that she’d cried out her dejection in the gym while doing squats: “It wasn’t pretty.”

It’s only been some two months since Andreescu returned to the tour, following a six-month mental health break where she travelled like a tourist — not humping a racket everywhere — and attended a meditation in Costa Rica. Good for the soul, that self-administered sabbatical, she’s said. Rediscovered her love for the game.

“I didn’t expect to be at this stage, actually, a couple of months ago, so I’m super happy. Obviously it’s disappointing because, you know, you’re at a Grand Slam, you want to do really well. But I have just got to keep working.”

She’s no longer the tennis ingénue who broke through at Flushing Meadows three years ago, stunningly besting Serena Williams in the final. Done a lot of growing up through the adversity of injuries and pandemic disruption. It all came a lot easier when no one was expecting much of her; when she wasn’t yet expecting the moon and the stars on a Slam tennis court.

“When I was 19, I legit put zero pressure on my back and I just enjoyed playing the game. I didn’t really expect anything from it. I had the confidence to say: I know I’m going to win this match. It’s not like I don’t have it now, but it’s different. People know you now.” (Well, not everybody, see above.) “And they expect more from you. I try not to focus on that, but sometimes it’s hard.

“Obviously for me, I know where I was.” On top of the world. On top of the Empire State Building with the trophy for a photo shoot.

“Now not being there is hard, and sometimes I feel like I am still too hard on myself. Because I can’t win everything. I mean, 2019 was absolutely unbelievable, but I’m sure it’s going to come soon. I have just got to continue to prepare and cultivate good habits, continue learning.”

Her experience as the hot new thing circa ’19 has given Andreescu empathetic perspective on what British teenager Emma Raducanu — U.S. Open champion last summer out of nowhere, defeating Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez in the final — is going through right now. Raducanu was likewise eliminated in the second round on Wednesday, in front of a hometown audience, and an entire country’s spirits sagged. (Further sinking when Andy Murray was knocked out mere hours later.)

“Oh yeah, I watched that match. And I know it’s probably not the same, but — I mean, I can tell a little bit, because that’s how I felt last year.” She’d hardly played in 2020 because of injury; her true followup year was 2021. “You want it so badly and you know that you can do well. So maybe that pressure you put on yourself and from other people can kind of get in the way, instead of just playing to win and playing freely like you did up until that point.”

As she immerses herself in selfimprovement books such as “The Alchemist” and “The Gifts of Imperfection,” the maturing of Andreescu continues with a more philosophical bent of mind.

“I feel like the universe just keeps testing me,” she laughed, “but I’m not going to give up.”

‘‘

I feel like the universe just keeps testing me, but I’m not going to give up.

BIANCA ANDREESCU