Bianca Andreescu makes Canadian history in sport
The young woman from Mississauga, Ont., made history on Thursday by becoming the first-ever Canadian to reach the U.S. Open final, setting her up for a showdown with Williams. Andreescu could win the first Grand Slam title of her career on Saturday.
“You’ll have a whole country with you tomorrow,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted at Andreescu on Friday morning, adding the hashtag #SheTheNorth.
“Congratulations!” wrote Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Twitter. “What an amazing, historic achievement!”
#SheTheNorth! @Bandreescu_has taken another step closer to bringing home the #USOpen grand slam title🏆 Congratulations on tonight's epic semi-final win, Bianca. I bet you can hear #Mississauga cheering you on all the way from New York! One more match to go 🎾
Bonnie Crombie/ mayor of Mississauga
And now the Canadian teen will meet the American legend in the finals here on Saturday, with Andreescu trying for her first U.S. Open title and Williams going for her seventh, 20 years after her first.
A huge comeback in the second set gave Andreescu a straight-sets win (7-6, 7-5) in a tremendously tight thriller over Belinda Bencic.
When it was over, Andreescu had her hands on her head again, looking shocked. First U.S. Open main draw. First U.S. Open final. Those things are not supposed to go together.
"A lot of emotions are running through my body right now. A lot of thoughts, too. But right now I'm just trying to take in the victory," said Andreescu. "Hopefully I can just keep the momentum going for the finals. Hopefully I can play a little bit better than I did today."
The match will be a bit of unfinished business. Williams and Andreescu played each other for the first time in last month's Rogers Cup. But after just four games, Williams was forced to retire due to back spasms,
That handed Andreescu her second WTA title of the season and made her the first Canadian to win the tournament since Faye Urban of Windsor, Ont., beat Vancouver's Vicki Berner in 1969.
“I don’t know what to say,” she said on court.
Here’s one thing she could say: She’s the first Canadian to make a U.S. Open singles final ever, and the first to make any Slam final since Milos Raonic at Wimbledon three years ago. No Canadian has won a Slam singles title.
The victory sets up a rematch with Williams from last month in Toronto at the Rogers Cup, where the American legend pulled out early in the first set, citing back spasms.
The 19-year-old Andreescu is looking for the first major title of her career, in her first US Open main-draw appearance. It would also be the first-ever Grand Slam singles title by a Canadian.
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Press Canada 9/6/2019 |
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