THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 30, 2021

Bianca Andreescu

Press Conference

A. CORNET/B. Andreescu

6-2, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Obviously not the results you wanted today. Could you maybe just take us through the match from your side? What do you think Alize did particularly well in this one?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I felt like the beginning of the match was good. Like, we were having some good rallies, playing very smart on my side, serving good.

I mean, I think I served pretty good the whole match, actually, so I'm pretty pleased about that. At one point she just, I don't know, she just switched gears and she was, like, on another level.

I obviously kind of stayed at the level I started the match, but she raised it. I don't know. I felt like I obviously could have raised my level a bit more, but during the match I felt like I couldn't. Now I say it, but match is a different story.

I tried to stay positive the whole match. I tried to, like, figure it out, like, how I can play her better. But honestly, she played really well. She was taking control from the start. She served better today than in our last match too.

So I don't know. Especially in the first set, too, I had a lot of breakpoints and points to hold my serve, but I didn't take them.

Q. I wanted to ask you about the last couple of games. It looked like you were making a comeback there. 4-1, 40-Love up on her serve, and then you had that slip. Did that unnerve you? Did that shake you a little bit? I wonder, given your injury history, does that put doubts in your mind if something like that happens?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: No, I think I'm over that at this point. I mean, I didn't slip just once. I slipped like six times during the match. The courts are pretty wet.

But, I mean, I felt like my ankle a little bit, just for like two, three points, but then it went away. It was fine.

Q. I wanted to pick up on something that you'd said. A few players have found the courts slippery, and as you know from what happened yesterday, a few players had to pull out because of injuries. How did you find it? Did it affect your game? If so, how?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, I don't think it affected my game, but, I mean, those points I think I lost -- I maybe won one point out of the six or how many times I slipped.

But, yeah, I mean, the courts are super slippery. I have only played her once before, but they weren't like this at all. I spoke to a couple other players, and they said it's not that normal, but this is something we can't really control.

I don't know. I was going to say maybe they can start the matches a bit later, but, I mean, Serena played night match, and Fed, I think, was midday. So I really don't know.

Q. Some positive news for you this week was the official announcement that you're going to be on Canada's Olympic tennis team. Can you talk about what that means for you going as a first-time Olympian? When you look at the depth of the squad this year between the men and the women, are you feeling optimistic about the potential to bring home a medal or two?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, 100%. I'm super looking forward to it. Going take a couple days off, see how I feel, and then go from there.

Q. I just wanted to ask you a general question about grass. Do you think it's a surface that you can play well on? Do you think in future years you can do really well here?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I think so. I just have to kind of put the pieces together. Hasn't really been like that the past couple of tournaments, but I know I'm going to get there, and I'm super excited for that.

Q. Wondering with your coaching partnership with Sylvain no longer happening, is there someone you're turning to even on a temporary basis now to help you sort of assess where your game is at for now and moving forward this summer?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I was getting some advice here and there. But I never really sat down to think about what I really want to do.

Definitely going to have a good talk with my team tonight to figure a lot of stuff out. At least I know now, I guess, how it is to not have a coach a little bit. But, yeah, I will figure that out soon.

Q. I just wanted to ask about the impact of being in a bubble, how much that affects your tennis. All your biggest successes have come when you have had your family there, your dog watching you in the crowd. What's it like playing without them?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: It really sucks. Being away from home for, like, more than six, seven months is super hard. But this is the world we are living in now, and I feel like I dealt with it in the best way that I could.

But it's definitely not easy. I'm sure a lot of players can agree with me. Yeah, hopefully it ends soon. That's all I can say.

Q. Speaking of family and bubbles, you have several weeks before the Olympics. Speaking of unbubbling, are you going to be able to see your family, see your dog, find a way to sort of get your head space out of what's been going on in that regard?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I would really love to. I still have to figure that out. But I really, really hope I can get that chance.

Q. On the coaching side, when you mentioned that you really know what it's like to not have a coach now, what's the biggest thing that you think is missing other than just the organization, the logistics? What's the biggest thing that you're missing beyond obviously Sylvain himself and everything else?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I think it's having that coaching structure, you know. Like I know how to play tennis, and I know what I want my game to be like. I don't know if it's because, like, I was on grass it was a bit more difficult. Maybe if I was on hard court it would be different, because, you know, I haven't played a lot on grass.

So I really can't say. Definitely that coaching structure, and having another person's opinion, because I have my opinion, but, you know, when you get another opinion, it can help too sometimes.