What a tournament. #BiancaAndreescu started the year outside the top-100 and will now find herself ranked 24th on Monday after lifting her maiden WTA title at the #BNPParibasOpen, producing yet another inspired performance against eighth seed #AngeliqueKerber in a thrilling final lasting two hours and 18-minutes.
Andreescu overcame a mid-match hiccup and had to battle against her own nerves and body to prevail in this encounter, recovering from a break down in the final set and staying strong mentally to grab the biggest title of her career.
The 18-year-old became the youngest winner of the title since 1999 and had to battle cramps as she closed out the win on her fourth championship point having missed three on her own serve.
For Kerber, it will be another wait for a Premier Mandatory title although it has been such a great run from the German who rebounded from a disappointing start to 2019, and she will rise back into the world’s top-four when the new rankings are released on Monday.
Interestingly enough, Kerber and Andreescu could once again face off in the third round of the Miami Open with the Canadian being unseeded despite her high ranking due to the draw being conducted on Sunday evening.
Andreescu pounces on her fast start and takes the opening set
It was such a great start from Andreescu in the biggest match of her career — contrary to her disastrous beginning against sixth seed Elina Svitolina in the semifinals. The Canadian came firing out of the blocks, grabbing the break in the opening game after making the smart choice to receive. A confident service hold then helped the youngster assert her authority across the court, with Kerber being overly passive and unable to dictate with her forehand.
Feeling the pressure and the nerves, Kerber finally managed to get onto the scoreboard after serving two double-faults in the opening game. However, Andreescu continued to play a smart match and often dragged the German out on her backhand wing before opening the court to attack the dangerous forehand of Kerber, allowing her to gain time to be aggressive.
Kerber produced a stunning forehand winner to hold serve in the fifth game, letting out a huge roar which was indicative of her presence out on Stadium 1. Just when Kerber seemed to have found her range, Andreescu was quick to shut the comeback door as she came up with an outrageous second serve ace to hold for a 4-2 lead.
Apart from the break in the first game, the proceedings were quite evenly split between both players. The three-time Major champion was determined to extend this set as long as possible, as she successfully earned a lifeline after hitting a brutal backhand winner to hold for 4-5, forcing her inexperienced opponent to serve it out.
A bad drive volley miss in the first point may have caused many, including myself, to think that Andreescu would completely collapse mentally at this point. In addition to a double-fault at 30-15, it seemed inevitable that she would get broken here.
However, she proved everyone wrong as she continued to display her nerves of steel — a strength that she has used to beat other top players previously — and successfully served out the opening set 6-4 without facing a single break point and winning 10/12 of her second serves (with the two points lost being double faults).
Kerber fights back from the brink for a deciding set
Kerber started the second set serving, but this time she managed to hold serve comfortably after a heated talk with coach Rainer Schuettler during the set changeover. Andreescu then survived a tricky hold to level the scores, although she would rue her missed opportunities in the third game as she blew two break points. In what was the best game of the match, Kerber played some of her best tennis and produced some excellent counterpunching skills to produce the hold which ultimately proved to be the turning point.
Andreescu, having held her ground for such a long period this afternoon, finally broke down with several poor unforced errors and gifted Kerber the break on her first break point conceded in the match. All credits to Kerber though, as the German fought so hard and stayed solid during all the baseline rallies to grind down the youngster who had to battle her way since the first round.
Releasing a loud “Komm Jetzt”, Kerber consolidated the break for a commanding 4-1 lead with the second set looking all but hers. Andreescu had a look at a break back in the seventh game, although she adhered to her coach’s instructions too strictly and sent in a few untimely high backhands which led to errors, allowing Kerber to hold on for a 5-2 advantage.
Serving to stay in the set, Andreescu showed her guts and character by surviving a nervy four-deuce game to remain in contention, placing the pressure on the eighth seed to serve it out. Kerber’s experienced prevailed as she ultimately took the second set 6-3, withstanding a huge challenge from the Canadian youngster.
Andreescu produces a miraculous comeback
Andreescu started the final set in the way she would have liked; serving up a good service game to reclaim her momentum and the rhythm on her shots. That was an important hold for her to regain confidence, especially after those near misses in the second set. Nonetheless, Kerber still managed to hold her ground and she looks fresher of the two on the court as she replied with a clean hold.
Committing several errors, Andreescu’s body seemed like it was not going to hold up for any longer. The Canadian looked to be struggling physically but she still managed to eke out the tough service hold having fought off her nerves and the pressure. Having taped up her arm and shoulder since the start of the match, she proceeded to call for medical treatment to give it a slight rub.
Kerber remained composed and sneaked in the narrow hold, although she was in some danger she was helped by Andreescu’s huge miss to the open court at 30-30. Andresscu started portraying the role of an unforced error machine as it was a handful of errors which handed the German just her second break of the afternoon, allowing the eighth seed to take the pivotal lead in the decider.
In an extraordinary turn of events, Andreescu told her coach that her body is unable to take it anymore and her coach’s response was, “You have to push through.” And she did. The Canadian rattled off several impressive winners in succession and broke straight back with a fantastic forehand winner mid-court, finding a new life in her game.
Eight straight points for the 18-year-old seemed to allow her to forget all her physical pain as she regained the 4-3 lead, with all the momentum running in her now.
Kerber was getting increasingly frustrated and a talk with her coach did not help either. She was rushing through her serves and a series of poor shots saw Andreescu grabbing her third consecutive game alongside the golden opportunity to serve out the championship. There was another twist to the drama as Andreescu was struggling with cramps, and wasted three championship points as Kerber broke straight back to return on serve once more.
With everything going against Andreescu, the Canadian’s sheer determination allowed her to earn a fourth championship point with a screaming forehand winner. Kerber netted a backhand and finally, Andreescu claimed her maiden WTA title and will rise to a new career-high ranking of 24 on Monday.
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