Almost four years after winning the US Open, Bianca Andreescu’s confidence hasn’t changed.
“I sincerely believe my level is top-10 caliber and I’m still a major tournament champion,” Andreescu told La Presse Canadienne. In a way, every time I lose, it’s like that player beat a major tournament champion and that’s what I always think in my head. »
However, the Canadian’s performances in recent years have not been so impressive.
Numerous injuries and an inability to create any real rhythm have led Andreescu to a 15-14 singles record this year. The athlete ranks 44th in the world at the dawn of the National Bank Open, to be played next week in Montreal.
The 23-year-old Mississauga, Ont., native gives her season a 6 out of 10 so far.
“My patience is running out because I know how well I can do,” Andreescu explained. She noted, however, that she feels her efforts to be healthy will soon pay off.
At Wimbledon last month, Andreescu showed progress and gave world No. 5 Ons Jabeur a hard time in the third round. Jabeur had finally won, before losing in the final.
“We’re starting to see all the benefits of all his hard work, even though it hasn’t been easy,” said Christophe Lambert, Andreescu’s coach since November. It’s always frustrating when you can’t perform at the expected level due to injuries, but I think we’re getting there. »
Andreescu, who says she is finally healthy, thinks she needs to have more consistency in her game, and play matches to get back to the form she had before, when she was ranked fourth in the world.
Lambert added that his athlete needs to trust his shots more.
“She has good tools and she has to believe in them,” he said. It’s something she had before, this creativity and this instinct in the game. I think with confidence, she will find that again. »
Lambert also mentioned that the injuries gave them the chance to step back and work on things they wouldn’t have done without rest.
When Andreescu suffered an ankle injury at the Miami Open, Lambert canceled a vacation he had planned to help his player get back into shape.
He explained that athletes can be reluctant to work on things they haven’t mastered yet, due to the risk of losing points in a game. Andreescu was listening.
Lambert wanted to work on the Canadian’s position, finding that she often played on her toes.
Together they worked on getting Andreescu to feel the pitch better from the balls of her feet, which helps in weight transfer when kicking due to the ball behind her.
Andreescu, who wants to finish the year in the top 20, will apply this technique next week in Montreal, she who said winning again at home “would mean absolutely everything”.
If that doesn’t happen, his attention will turn to the Cincinnati Open the following week.
“No matter the tournament, I’m going to take anything at this point,” Andreescu said with a laugh. Of course, at home would be even better, but anywhere would be fine. »