THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 6, 2023

Bianca Andreescu

Press Conference

B. ANDREESCU/A. Bondar

6-3, 3-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Your initial thoughts on today's match, if you would.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, of course.

I think I started off very well. Even in the second set I thought I was doing pretty good, and then on grass, it just takes one loss of your serve and then it could go either way. That's what happened.

But then in the third set, I put my foot on the gas and I said, I'm going to go for it. That's what I did. Fought till the end, and I made it through. Very happy.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You said I think Saturday that your relationship with grass was like complicated. How is it after today's match?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Still is. (Laughter.)

Yeah, I'm trying to do my best to stay positive. You know, there is a lot of bad bounces. You're not playing on hard court where you kind of know where the ball's going to land and all that.

So yeah, I'm trying to stay positive with it. I feel like my game really suits it if I keep things simple, and I like to complicate things a lot of the time, but I'm doing my best. But I know if I get a few more matches in, I can continue that momentum and do well on the grass.

Q. Can you tell us what you did on the couple of days' layoff when you couldn't play, so you were coming in and just wasn't working out?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I hit a total of 45 minutes between those two days. I was able to hit indoor the first day. Well, the day I was supposed to play initially. Then I was able to get 20 minutes on the grass.

It's definitely very frustrating having to wait around, especially when other players are in Round 3. But it is what it is. That's life right now for many of us. So I'm just trying to control the controllables. And those things I can't control, as of now, until I'm seeded again (smiling). It will be very soon.

Q. If there was one thing in tennis you could change, what would that be?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Good question. You know how there is like "followed by," if there is a time frame after each match, even just 15 minutes, just to have that warmup so you don't have to like stop and go. And, you know, sometimes it will go in three sets, or I mean, now, four sets, five sets.

Having that on-and-off feeling is not good at all. It's very tiring and time-consuming when, in reality, maybe we can just have even 10 minutes at the end, after the match you have 10 minutes to warm up. That's sad, I think.

Q. So you know when to prepare, basically?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, exactly.

Q. Anhelina Kalinina. It rhymes.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yes, it does.

Yeah, she played right before me so I was able to watch the match a little bit. She's a very aggressive player. She's had some great results this year. But I think if I, you know, play my best, stay positive, not get too frustrated, then I think I can do well.

Q. Did you feel the effects of only having those brief hitting periods, you said 45 minutes or something total, like both days?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah.

Q. When you got out there today, how did it feel initially?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I mean, I don't think I'm really going to forget how to play tennis. It wasn't I guess the end of the world. Obviously not the ideal scenario, but I was able to get a good 30 minutes in today before my match, so it's okay.

Q. How is your wrist feeling?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, it was bothering me a little bit during the match, but, you know, I'm doing my best to not pay too much attention to it.

I know my physio and my coach, we are doing the best we can to navigate during practice and obviously during treatment as well. Icing, acupuncture, all that stuff.

Q. Fans have no idea what players do when there are these rain delays and the players are stuck. What did you do to pass the time?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I don't really like to stay in my own bubble, because I feel like when I'm too serious and, yeah, just too serious, things don't really go my way. So I like to be with my team. I like to interact with them.

We played a bunch of card games. We played Spikeball as well when it wasn't raining. That was fun. Just like to keep things lighthearted as much as we can.

Q. What concerns do you have about the impact of back-to-back days as a result of the rain delays?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, personally I like having that day off. So when you're in a Grand Slam you kind of expect it. But obviously now it's another story. But, I mean, I'm used to it.

Other tournaments are like that, so it's not that big of a deal for me. And it's nice to not have like a long three-setter before. So that helps.

Q. What do you like most about Christophe Lambert?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I love his sense of humor. I think he has a great understanding of the game as well, especially my game since he's known me from a very young age. We just get along, on and off the court, more than any other coach I have had. And also he's very organized, which sometimes I'm not as organized. So he helps me in that sense in, I guess, the responsibility side of things.

Also, he gets along very well with my team. I mean, my team gets along very well with him. So that's important to me.