TORONTO — Sensing the gravity of the moment with hometown favourite Bianca Andreescu down 5-3 in the third set, the crowd threw its support behind the 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont.
A rowdy Romanian contingent — which cheered on world No. 4 Simona Halep as she squeaked by American Jennifer Brady earlier Wednesday — stuck around for the Canadian, whose parents hail from the Eastern European country, with roughly a half-dozen of its flags visible in the Aviva Centre.
Andreescu’s response was highlighted by one of her five aces on the day, a cross-court forehand winner and a fist-pump as she pulled to within one game.
“They helped me push myself even more, just knowing that the crowd is behind you,” Andreescu recalled.
“And, yeah, at 5-3, I think I lost four games in a row. I was really, really pissed. And I think I just took all that anger and just put it in my shots. That’s why I think my shots were more effective.”
She gutted out one more and in the final game, Andreescu tiredly fist-pumped twice after firing a pair of winners to clinch a 7-5, 2-6, 5-7 win over world No. 40 Daria Kasatkina of Russia at the Rogers Cup.
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Andreescu barely pulled out a pass on her second on-court test, which came less than 24 hours after she fought through the rust in her first match in two months, a three-set, all-Canadian matchup with Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que.
The tournament is akin to a university finals week for the Indian Wells champion as she returns from an extended layoff, offering her the chance to assess her skills and evaluate the strength of her right shoulder, in which she tore the subscapularis muscle in her rotator cuff earlier this year.
The world No. 27 missed drop shots short, her groundstrokes often went long or into the net and she had six double faults, but a pass is a pass, and the rising star is heading to the third round.
Andreescu admitted the quick turnaround caused her game to suffer, particularly late.
“Yesterday wasn’t an easy match, and I had a very short recovery time, but that’s just how it is sometimes,” she said.
“And I tried my best to get as much treatment as I can and as much sleep. I prepared myself well before the match, but, yeah, it did catch up to me, especially in the third set a little bit.”
The 22-year-old counter-punching Russian, who peaked at No. 10 last year, proved to be a tough matchup for the teenage Canadian, who employs a similar style.
Andreescu, who came into the second-round tilt tied for first in the WTA with an 86.7 per cent match-winning percentage, according to Tennis Abstract, struggled to find her footing early against Kasatkina.
“I was talking to my coach after the match. I told him, ‘Now I know how people feel when they play me,” she said with a laugh.
“She likes to change the rhythm, and that’s what I’ve been working on the most because I know players don’t like that. And, yeah, we basically played each other at our own game today, and it wasn’t easy.”
Her frustration was particularly evident in her error-filled first set. Andreescu attempted to smash her racket after wasting two break points and later yelling “Oh my god!” as Kasatkina took the eighth game to make it 4-4.
There were a number of moments like this as, for the second match in a row, Andreescu struggled to find her consistency.
She hung her head for a few moments after making an error and eventually giving back a break at 3-1 in the second set as her lead was slashed to 3-2.
On top of the double faults, Andreescu finished with a first-serve winning percentage of 54, well below her season mark of 64.3. Her second-serve winning percentage also closed at 50, nearly two points under her average of 51.7, which is second-best in the WTA.
It seemed like Andreescu was set to break through after a seemingly never-ending, hard-fought fourth game in the third set. The two battled over more than a half-dozen deuces until Kasatkina finally allowed the young Canadian to go up a break to 3-1, prompting Andreescu to pump her fists.
But the Russian returned the break quickly the next game to dash Andreescu’s hopes of pulling away.
This was one of a number of back-and-forth breaks as Andreescu shook off the rust and fatigue in her second match of competitive tennis in months.
“I was just pretty tired. I’m not going to lie,” said Andreescu.
“I did work a lot on the physical aspect of things, but playing a match is a totally different thing. There’s a lot more on the line and there are more emotions, which definitely contributes to soreness and fatigue,” she added, referencing shoulder strengthening she did while sidelined.
But there’s no rest yet for Andreescu, who will face her toughest challenge yet Thursday as she’s slated to face No. 5 in the world Kiki Bertens.
And that’s a good thing, because after two matches Andreescu is 2-0. Regardless of how she got there, she’s back to her winning ways from earlier this year.
“I’m really glad with how everything is turning out. It’s nice to get back into the rhythm of things,” she said.
“I really can’t complain. I’ve been off for seven weeks and being able to win these tough matches after that period off means so much. So that’s, I think, one of the most things I’m proud of right now.”
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