THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 7, 2023

Bianca Andreescu

Press Conference

B. ANDREESCU/A. Kalinina

6-2, 4-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Just your initial thoughts on today's match.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, today was definitely a battle from the start to the finish, even in the first set. They were very close games.

I felt that in the second set she started to pick up her level, and then in the third set, you know, I was down 5-2, and I just told myself I have to keep fighting. I kept saying, It's not over till it's over.

It really brought back good memories from 2019 because I remember being down a lot in that year, and, you know, coming back and fighting my way through. So I'm very pleased.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. What was the craziest part of the match for you?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Let's see. All the bad bounces that she had. All the let cords, the lucky let cords. They really, really pissed me off. That overhead I missed at 2-All, I think it was, to have an advantage. My first serve not working well. Some nice backhand down-the-line winners that I was hitting.

Then looking at my box and everyone is like completely red and having like multiple heart attacks. So a few. (Laughter.)

Q. I was going to ask about 2019. Can you go back to 2019, winning all those matches, all those comebacks, that you built up this head of steam, whether you're about to get into that or feeling like you might get into that again?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I definitely feel like a match like this can definitely get me back to, I guess, that mindset. It's definitely very satisfying, so I'm very, very pleased.

But, you know, every day is different. You never know what you're going to get. But having a match like this just puts me back in those feelings. You know, psychologically it's good to continue to experience those, because, you know, the more you experience something, the easier it is to kind of get back into that way of things.

So I'm super, super grateful to have won this match. I think it will do good things for me.

Q. You're back with Christophe Lambert, who I think is your old, old coach from those days, 2019 as well.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I guess in a way, yeah, going back to my roots. He's helped me a lot. He understands the tennis game in general and also my game. I feel that he gives me a lot of freedom as well to go based on my intuition because that's when I play my best. I look at him sometimes and he'll tell me little things here and there, but he's very good at trusting me.

That in turn forces me to continue to trust myself, because sometimes I feel like I don't, which it helps a lot.

Q. You said that she raised her level of play in the second set. Do you feel that you were doing something different too until you broke back in the third?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I can't really remember. Yeah, I think, I just remember her hitting more winners and just kind of going for her shots more. She really likes her backhand. She was running around and hitting her backhand on the forehand side even.

I feel like that gave her confidence, because maybe I didn't have enough of a good crosscourt forehand or down-the-line -- or to her backhand. I think she gained a lot of confidence doing that. I made a few mistakes here and there. I think my first-serve percentage dropped as well.

All of those things definitely contributed. Actually, I was up 4-2. Oh, great. Oh, my God. Wait, no, that wasn't the overhead. I probably made some stupid mistakes there too. But yeah, anyways, all the above (smiling).

Q. And you said at the end of your last press conference yesterday that, like, you want to be seeded again and that will come soon. Is it that kind of matchup like raise your confidence, knowing that, yeah, I can like have up-and-downs and win them and you fought back?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, like I said, those matches are very, very satisfying, because you literally go through everything and anything during those kinds of matches. As well as a tiebreaker, like anything can happen in that tiebreaker.

So I just, you know, I really wanted to go for it, because when I'm very passive and hesitant, that's when I don't play my best tennis.

I said, Fuck it, and I just went for it. That's literally when I play my best tennis. I just have to keep gaining that confidence of continuously going for it, basically. That consistency is so important.

Q. If it's Ons Jabeur in the next match, what are your thoughts about facing her and what makes her game so special?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: She has a lot of variety in her game. She's a fighter. She's been through a lot in her career. She's definitely, if I play her, she's not going to give it to me easy.

I look up to her as well off the court. She speaks a lot about women's tennis and women's rights, which I appreciate very much. But yeah, I definitely think it's going to be a good match and hopefully on a bigger court (smiling).

Q. And the challenge of her game specifically for you?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, she takes the ball very early, and she hits very hard and on grass that's obviously hard to deal with. She has a great serve.

You know, playing players that fight till the end isn't always easy, so yeah, all those things.

Q. One quickie, one longy. How are you doing with the tweener from...

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Actually, Ons, she helped me a lot. I was practicing with her at the French Open, and also a little bit we practiced before the tournament. It's going good. I'll be posting a backup to the first video I posted to actually show people that I can hit one now.

Q. What was all her slice forehands... What was that all that about?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I actually have no idea. Someone said that she hurt her wrist at one point during the match, but I didn't notice that. I thought she just wanted to change the rhythm. I don't know if she started slicing because of that problem or even if she had that problem.

But it definitely worked, because she started in the second set. She kind of just took me out of my rhythm. And on grass, the slices are very difficult if you hit a good one to return back. It worked in her favor.

Q. Not at the end?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Not at the end.

Q. At the end you were better?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah. Thanks.

Q. I may be wrong, but Tom noticed some Netflix mics and camera following you.

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yes.

Q. How do you like that?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I honestly don't mind it. I think it's great what Netflix and the tennis world came up with, because you get to see players kind of in like vulnerable states, and off the court too you get to, I guess, know their personality more. I think it's great exposure for the sport.

Q. You said that you're playing instinctively again with Christophe. Can you talk about the evolution of your game through the years? You've worked with different people, your game style seems to have evolved here, there, now back. Is that how you see it as well?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I definitely went through different waves. I feel like I always had that intuitive nature of even if somebody said to do this, I kind of go against it and just kind of follow my heart.

But I do feel like last year I went away a little bit from that, and, you know, I started to just kind of hit the ball and not maybe slice as much or dropshot or basically just play intuitively.

You know, working now with Christophe, he gives me that freedom. Even with Sylvain, when I worked with him, he did give me a lot of that freedom as well. I did well with that. I'm really hoping that going back to that will help me get better results.

Q. When did Netflix start following you?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Here, actually here. Hopefully I do a good run.