ROLAND GARROS

May 21, 2022

Bianca Andreescu

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to Paris. How are you feeling entering Roland Garros?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I'm feeling great. It's really nice to be back. I feel like I had some good matches on clay. So I'm feeling very confident for the tournament.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Now that a few days have passed since Rome, what are kind of your takeaways from the buildup to Paris? How confident are you feeling coming in?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, like I said, I feel like I have been playing really well on clay, and I have been playing against some high-level athletes so I know kind of where my level is at, which is great.

I know I can go above and beyond when I need to, which gives me a lot of confidence. I love the clay courts here, so I'm feeling really good.

Q. Are you the kind of person who looks at the draw, or do you not try to find out which section you're in?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, no, I try not to look at that. I feel that when I do I focus too much in the present. I want to just, you know, focus match by match, and that's been helping me.

Q. You got to play Iga and a lot of talk is, in a way, maybe she's separated herself from the rest with her form. I'm curious, looking back at that experience, do you get the sense that the tour in general is focusing on like, okay, you focus on yourself and everything but still she kind of sets a benchmark of you need to beat her to win a big title? Is it that kind of sense?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I wouldn't say we need to beat her to win a title because you never know what's going to happen in a tournament, but she's definitely setting a high precedent right now. For me at least it's very motivating. She's kind of like the new Ashleigh Barty of the tour, because Ashleigh was winning a lot, as well.

But for me it's very motivating. I'm very impressed with how she's doing.

Q. You have talked in the past about your feeling about clay that you like the surface and that you also love this place in Paris. Given that you've got some matches under your belt, do you feel like now is maybe the time you can really make a mark on this tournament in this place?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: For sure better than last couple of years. I definitely feel more confident this year. Even though I know I had that break, I'm feeling really good physically as well. I'm continuing to do more things in the gym, even during tournaments, and that in turn also gives me confidence because I feel very fit.

My coach or my fitness trainer, he always says that a way to kind of like cheat the system is to be the fittest, and for me that always sticks into my head. Sometimes I will even wake up early, do my own things in the morning, kind of get ahead of everyone else in a way.

All of that at the end of the day I think, with the confidence, will really help me on the court.

Q. And you refer to your break, and we've talked about it a lot, the time you took off for yourself. Now that you are back on the tour that you feel sort of a sense of comfort that if you ever find yourself in a rut again that you can always take another break and therefore you just don't feel as stressed about going through the tour and maybe getting bogged down by everything?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, that's a very good question. I have thought about that and I feel like if something does happen, I for sure have that choice.

But obviously I don't want to get to that point and I feel that now I have more resources to kind of get me away from that, and if I do get in that, hopefully those resources will help me get out of that rut.

Q. What works for you? What clicks for you on the clay? What makes you a good clay court player when you're at your best on this surface?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I think the first one is my movement. I think that's a very powerful tool to have. I mean, on any surface, but especially on clay, because I feel that the rallies are much longer and the matches can be longer, as well, so having good stamina is very important.

My change of rhythm, as well, I think works well because of the bounces on the clay. My kick serve I think is very effective (smiling).

Q. You seem to have a good group of people around you at the moment. It's not always easy to build that team. I'm curious if now having known Sven this amount of time and Abdul as well, can you talk about them separately of what kind of philosophies do they bring to your team and why do you think it's working?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Abdul, he's very motivating and inspirational. He's been through a lot in his life and as a lot of experiences as well, so he's kind of like a mentor for me, like a second father, in a way. And I have known him longer. Him and I have a different kind of relationship at the moment.

But he's very -- he's tough. He's really tough on me but in the good way, because I feel that I'm not always too tough on myself, meaning I don't necessarily always push myself, but he kind of takes that to the next level. I feel like now I'm becoming more comfortable being uncomfortable, which I think is super, super important in life. He really brings that out of me. He's just an amazing, happy human being. We have very similar beliefs and values, so I'm very grateful for him.

And Sven, I mean, we only started working, I would say nine months ago, which is kind of a long time, but we also have a very good relationship on and off the court. The first thing that really drew me to him was his energy and just his like politeness, respect, respectfulness, and joyfulness. He's always in a good mood, which always puts me in a good mood, which is amazing.

On the court, I mean, he has so much experience. We always like to bounce back ideas off of each other. We are always, I feel like, picking at each other's brain, which to me I love, because I feel like I'm a very intellectual person. If I don't have stimulation then I get bored.

He always makes practice fun and enjoyable.

Q. You are 21, and at the time that you broke out, teenager, you're young, everyone is looking at you you're young. Now the World No. 1 is 20. We have Fernandez and Raducanu. I'm curious, how do you feel on tour? Do you feel, especially that you have gone through stuff, do you feel you are older than you are? Do you feel no, I'm still young, kicking it with these girls? What's the mindset like?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I still feel that I'm young, but at the same time when I do see players like Coco Gauff, Emma Raducanu, Iga, she's younger than me, I feel like I'm getting older. So it's a good reality check to put me in my place, like, Come on, your time is slowly running out, which is good in a way. And it's really nice to see that, because I was also doing very well at their age. So to see young athletes do well is always really nice to see.

Q. The second thing is you have a cerebral kind of game. You're intellectual, like to think, the way you play the game is the same. You have Iga who is kind of the same. Ons is a little bit the same. Who else would you put in that category? Is it fun to be on tour right now to be facing not just big hitters or, quote-unquote, "ball bashers"? They exist but in general there is more of a bit of variety. Can you talk about that.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I really like that. I'm seeing a lot more of that on tour. Especially on the women's side. The first player that comes to mind is Ons, I played her. It's not fun, it's really not fun. Iga, too, it's not fun. The dropshots come in place, the loopy balls, super flat. So having that change of rhythm really can disrupt your opponent.

But it's also good to have that back, because I hope that I'm doing the same for others, so to actually feel it, as well, is a good motivator.

But those are the two that definitely stand out.

Q. I know "expectations" are kind of a bad word to use, but I'm wondering how you feel now that you've got maybe a month of competitive tennis under your belt. Do you have a new sense of what you can achieve now?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah. I'm still focusing on the process to get to where I want to get. I obviously have goals to crack the top 10 again and win other Grand Slams, more tournaments, I really want to focus on the process to get towards that, and it's been working really well.

Obviously when I'm on court I'm super hungry and always looking at the finish line, at the bigger picture, but I do want to continue to do like those every-moment things or every-single-day things, like those daily routines. And even during the points as well I want to continue to build that, and then I know that one day all the other things will come in place.

Q. Last year in New York we talked about you were wanting to pull the trigger a little quicker and to give yourself less thought about variety, maybe overthinking it, that's what you were working on with Sven at the time. Has that been a helpful experience for you? Is it a different plan when you get on the clay? Where are you at in regards to that?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, I still feel that there can always be an improvement in my game regarding shot selection, and I have been working a lot with Sven on that. And also, all other parts of my game.

What he brings out in me is he kind of, he tests me a lot, and he says that I have more tools in my toolbox than I actually think.

I have been really showing that on court, and he's helping me bring that out of me. And that could be little things, like maybe even a short-slice crosscourt which I don't normally use. We are continuously working on stuff like that, or maybe serving and volleying, like little things like that that can for sure make a difference at the end of the day.

Q. I wanted to ask you about the business side of sport a bit. We are seeing someone as young as Naomi who started up her agency, something unheard of for a female athlete. Curious for you when you see something like that, is that something that intrigues you in the sense of learning more on the business side of things or do you prefer to just focus on the tennis for now and not look at the other stuff? How do you handle these things?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Seeing what she's doing outside of the sport is great. That's not only creating her own skin care line or, you know, her own racquet and stuff like that, but also what she speaks about, I think it's very important. I think she's like collaborating with someone about mental health. To me, that's more inspiring than the other part.

But, I mean, to build your tennis empire in a way is to kind of have it all, and, I mean, that's what Serena does well, that's what Maria Sharapova does well, and I want to get to that point as well. I already have some ideas, but I'm focusing more on tennis right now, and then I know the rest will come.