ROLAND GARROS

June 1, 2023

Bianca Andreescu

Press Conference

B. ANDREESCU/E. Navarro

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Bianca, a very solid performance tonight in two straight sets. You must be pleased with your performance and to get through that relatively quickly tonight.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I think I played really, really great. I stuck to the game plan. I felt in the zone from the beginning to the end.

Yeah, and I think the crowd also helped me as well bring up my energy too in certain moments. So that was really nice.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Welcome to the third round for the first time here.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Feels good, yeah. Any Grand Slam but the US Open, right? I think? I don't think I ever... Yeah, I don't think... So it feels good.

Q. Absolutely. You mentioned it the other night after the other win that you felt like you had your fighting spirit back and maybe things were feeling like they were locking into place for you. Now that you break this kind of imaginary barrier, how confident are you feeling going into the rest of this tournament?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: It feels really good, especially in my first round to get through such a tough match like that, it gives you a lot of confidence against a top player.

Then, you know, it's always a good day when you can bring that momentum into the second round as well. I think I did that. I stayed very focused from the beginning till the end.

And even in the second set when there was like a little bit of a turn, I stayed focused, I stayed positive, and I just did my thing, and that really, really felt good (smiling).

Q. You have a game that has all the weapons from the outside to do great on this surface, just with all the variety, the heavy topspin, the movement. But what is the challenge for you of unlocking all of that on clay? Is it the movement, kind of the sliding, getting caught in corners, that sort of thing?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I mean, yeah, that's not always fun. The goal is to do that to the opponent.

So, yeah, that could definitely be one thing. Just making sure I hit the right shot at the right time. Today I didn't do that so well in certain moments, but I think it's getting better and better.

I mean, that's literally the main thing that I focus on during my practices, and also my serve, too. I think my serve has been doing really, really good, my percentage is high. I'm hitting some aces, which is really good (smiling).

Yeah, I feel really good. I'm very happy.

Q. With everything that happened, especially in Miami, are you pleasantly surprised with your level of play right now?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yes and no. I know that if I'm very focused and I really want it, I can get into that zone most of the time. Most of the time, that's the key, a key sentence in that (smiling).

I watched a lot of my matches from Miami and Indian Wells, and just getting back to that mindset because I felt really good in that moment, just going back and feeling all those emotions really helped me in the present moment, as well.

But, I mean, considering my results on the clay, that's kind of like the "no" part. So it just feels good, cuz this is a Grand Slam. It's kind of like, quote, unquote, the most important tournaments of the year.

Yeah, it's nice that I can get through these tournaments rather than, I guess, the other tournaments, if I had to choose.

Q. Did you feel almost at home today?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: In a way, yeah. It was crazy. Like right from the start till the end. Yeah, they did the Mexican wave. There's this guy shouting my name every time it came to him. It was so fun. It was so, so fun.

Playing in front of crowds like this makes the time on court even more enjoyable, and it's always nice to be cheered for in any circumstance. So yeah.

Q. Next you play Tsurenko and I think your guys' matches have always kind of been not great for either of you, one way or the other. What's the challenge of playing her and can you put all the history kind of behind?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I know that it's going to be very physical. She gets to, like, every single ball. So I really have to stay in the zone, put pressure right from the start.

Yeah, she's a fighter. Yeah, I haven't had any easy matches against her. So I'm looking forward to it, because I know it's going to be a tough match. I'm sure the crowd is going to really love it.

Q. One more question on the crowds. Like you said, because of circumstances, you haven't played as much, like, for example, on the grass or even on the clay and things like that, that section of the season. Yet, you're out there on Court 14 and there's all this crowd support and at other tournaments as well you still are pretty consistently a crowd favorite. How does that make you feel? A lot of players kind of need to have a lot of appearances in front of a crowd to build that up, but it seems like your reputation precedes you.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, definitely feels good. I mean, one of my goals is to kind of be a good role model, a good influence on other people. Tennis at the end of the day it's entertainment, and I think a lot of the times I can put on a good show.

I think that's why the crowd also likes me. I think I can be funny sometimes. Like, you know, like go like this (demonstrating) with the crowd or just interact with them sometimes. Yeah, I think that's also why.

But, yeah, it feels good (smiling).