US OPEN

August 27, 2021

Bianca Andreescu

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How are you feeling? How does it feel to be back?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I'm very happy to be back. I got goosebumps when I walked onto Armstrong the first day. It just brought me back to 2019. It's nice to have those feelings going into a tournament.

So I'm feeling good, and I'm healthy, so it's great (smiling).

Q. In terms of how you're playing, practicing, results can be deceptive, so can you give us an assessment of where you think your level is at right now?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I think everyone knows by now, I started work with Sven Groeneveld. He's been helping me a lot with a lot of different aspects. Right now I'm basically applying what he's been telling me. I see a huge difference in practice.

At this point I just really need matches to be able to execute as I want. That's why we're trying to play as many practice sets as possible. Like, at the Rogers Cup, I had this toe thing. Even in Cincinnati it really bugged me, so I don't really count that as much. It's pretty unfortunate that that happened, because I would have loved to continue playing matches.

Yeah, I know practice and competing in a real tournament is different. But it's just how it goes. I hope I can get a lot of matches in this couple weeks.

Q. You've spoken in the past being a confidence player. With the lack of matches, does coming back here and having that reaction you had to the site, are you able to lean on that to almost make up for the lack of matches?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I think it will. I can't really say now because, you know, I'm not in the tournament yet. But I had that same feeling at the Rogers Cup because I was basically going in as defending champion.

I was feeling good. I think it did bring me some confidence. It was super unfortunate what happened. I was feeling good out there. So I'm hoping it can do the same here at the US Open.

Q. (Questions about press conferences being live again now.)

BIANCA ANDREESCU: You mean, like media?

Q. Yes.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Because I didn't have the chance?

Q. Exactly.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, that's a very interesting thought. Never really thought of that.

I've never really had a big problem doing all those things. After losing it kind of sucks that you have to do it, but that's part of the job. As an athlete, we basically have to learn how to cope with stuff like that.

But I'm sure for other players, it definitely helped not having the same amount of media and all that because of the pandemic, but for me, I feel good.

Q. Is it nice to have people again?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, yeah. It's so different. I wasn't expecting so many people here right now. Always get to see them on TV, so it's super nice.

Q. As a player who had her greatest success on a hard court and right here, what do you appreciate most when you see Naomi Osaka play hard court tennis?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: She's kind of like the face of hard court tennis. It's really nice to have her alongside me and so many other players. She definitely motivates me to do better. She's a very nice person, as well.

I love that she speaks up for mental health and all that stuff. I respect her a lot.

Q. What about her game is most suited for this surface?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, she's just a power hitter. She loves to hit the ball. She's smart with it. She has a big serve, a good return game. I think that's what really helps her a lot on the hard.

Q. What has it been like to have a different voice on your team, and what made you realize you wanted to make a change?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: One of the main reasons was I wanted someone to do full-time with me, and Sylvain couldn't because he has kids. It's totally understandable. They're very young, as well. I wanted -- well, that's basically the biggest reason.

I felt like our time was coming to an end basically. Like, looking for a new coach, I really wanted someone that has a lot of experience with Grand Slam champions. Sven is perfect for that. I got to FaceTime him before actually meeting him. I spoke to a couple of other coaches, but Sven really stood out. We got along really well in that FaceTime call.

I was hoping it would be the same in person, and it was. We connected very well on and off the court. He brings a lot of different insight than what I've had in the past. He really focuses on details. I see that help me a lot on the court. He also looks at the mental side of things, as well, which is super important for me.

It's just like your pep talk during matches, during points, all of that, how important that is. I'm seeing a huge improvement.

Q. With your success in Miami, then also playing well, rediscovering things in Rogers Cup a little bit, do you feel, injuries aside, that it's there, that you're not that far off from the way you want to play? And on Sven, discussions about your game, is it about short-term gains or are you looking more long-term in terms of how your game develops?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: To answer that question quickly, it's always long-term. He always thinks long-term. What we also do is we create short-term process goals, because I feel like I've been looking too much at results just because of how well I was doing in 2019.

I have to tell myself, like, I'm not the same person back then than what I am now. Taking so much time off, I feel like it helped me in many ways. But then getting into that competitive mindset, it kind of, like, brought me back a little bit. I feel like that's also a reason why I haven't had the results I wanted.

But I'm really trying to focus on process and long-term because I'm also only 21. I want to be able to do what 21-year-olds do. I feel like in 2019, it was just tennis, tennis, tennis. I got burnt out towards, like, the end of the year. I don't know, that probably correlated to injuries. I have no idea.

I really looked at everything. I'm in a really good place right now. It's also, like, day by day you have to experience new things and kind of just adapt as the days go by. Yeah, that's that question.

The other one, even in Miami I didn't feel like I was at my best. I know I got to the finals and all of that, but I was struggling with a lot of other things on the side. I think it did show up in my tennis a little bit.

But that whole, like, confidence thing, I'm just going to have to play matches. That's all I can really say, play matches, continue to train hard, prepare well, prepare mentally. Mentally is super important, too. Yeah, nutrition, all that stuff.

I'm trying to stay patient. If I do all of that, I know I'm going to get back to or get to where I want to be.

Q. I read that you like rap music. Who is the best Canadian rapper? Drake, Shapovalov, or someone else?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Damn, I don't know if someone can compete with Denis really. He's really been stepping up his game.

Honestly I think Denis is a really good rapper. I'm sure he can do way more if he practices. Maybe he can collab with someone. I have no idea.

It's really nice that he's doing that because it brings a different vibe to the tennis game, and I feel like we need that. We have a lot of younger audiences like you. You're talking about it right now. Other than Denis, though, I really like Drake. I listen to a lot of The Weeknd and Jessie Reyez.