TORONTO — Bianca Andreescu was forced off the court with a shoulder injury on March 25.
She returned nearly two months later at the French Open, but had to retire from the same ailment — a subscapularis muscle tear in the rotator cuff of her right shoulder — in the second round.
After another two months on the shelf, the 19-year-old rising star from Mississauga, Ont., pledged to be ready for her hometown Rogers Cup.
And, for the most part, she looked it in her 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 come-from-behind victory over fellow Canadian Eugenie Bouchard on Tuesday.
“In the first set, I was a bit nervous. I’m not going to lie. But I shook those nerves, and I tried to refocus for the second set,” said Andreescu. “But other than that, I’m feeling really good, even with my shoulder. So hopefully I can keep up the rest of the tournament and the rest of the season, too.”
Prior to the injury, which she succumbed to in the fourth round at the Miami Open, the teenage phenom was on a 10-match win streak, boasting a 32-4 record on the year, and had won her first title at Indian Wells, sometimes regarded as the tour’s fifth grand slam.
Andreescu admitted in the pre-tournament press conference that her jam-packed scheduled caused her shoulder woes, and it felt “weak” even as she claimed her first WTA championship.
Offering up her youth as an excuse, she added that she was foolhardy to hurry back for Roland Garros.
“I’m a pretty impatient person, so I’ve learned the hard way sometimes,” she told reporters. “I came back too quickly and I got reinjured, but now I’m gaining more and more experience with this and I’m becoming more mature too, which is definitely showing because this time I made sure not to rush anything.”
Andreescu said after Tuesday’s match that she hadn’t felt this strong in a while and the time off ahead of the Rogers Cup, during which she also missed Wimbledon, allowed her to improve her strength in her shoulder.
“I had a really good, I guess, a mini pre-season where I was able to focus a lot on my physique and just focus on other aspects of my game. And not only that, but as a person too. I think I really improved a lot of things,” she said.
“So I’m really grateful for that break, and I think all that preparation is paying off.”
But she didn’t hit the ground running, as for a full set Tuesday night it felt more like it was 2014, not 2019, with Bouchard taking an early lead.
With the feelings of nostalgia flooding the crowd, the face of Canadian women’s tennis for half a decade, yelled “Come on!” as she closed out the frame over the country’s current favourite daughter.
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But in the second, Andreescu showed the skills that carried her to her first WTA championship earlier this year, and Bouchard looked more like the 25-year-old, ranked No. 112 not her peak of No. 5, who had lost eight straight coming into the match.
The world No. 27 Andreescu showed no sign of hesitation, loading up for heavy serves and forehands, while mixing in crafty drop shots and high-arching balls.
“I really like to change the rhythm. And I think it threw her off today, and it throws off a lot of opponents, a lot of my opponents,” said Andreescu.
Despite struggling with some inconsistency in the third, the 19-year-old closed out the match, finishing with three aces and winning 69 per cent of her first serves. But Andreescu also showed some rust — and, perhaps, signs of the tweaks made to her serve to correct a biomechanical issue related to her shoulder — launching eight double faults.
“That wasn’t really a surprise to me. It’s my first tournament back after a couple weeks, but I’m really glad with how I managed it,” said Andreescu of getting back into the rhythm of competition.
“I tried to just focus on what I was doing well. Because I know in the first set I was missing a lot… I think things just switched on for me in the second set. I started going for my shots more and that really helped.”
The punctuation point came for Andreescu in the third set, with the crowd roaring as she broke Bouchard with a cross-court forehand to take a 4-3 lead.
“I think it was a solid match from me and the best I’ve played since I’ve come back from injury,” said Bouchard, referencing a persistent abdominal injury.
“She’s (No. 27) in the world. She’s a great player. So to battle with her till 6-4 in the third gives me confidence and just motivates me to work even harder.”
Despite her recent injury troubles, her peers were still impressed by Andreescu’s early season run and expect a return to form.
“That’s tough for her to come back at the highest level, but I’m sure that she’s going to touch it again. Because if she keeps working, she has the biggest chance to come back and to be strong again,” said two-time grand slam winner Simona Halep, who Andreescu idolized as a Canadian of Romanian descent, earlier Tuesday.
“Her title in Indian Wells meant a lot for everybody, and for her, I think, the most. (It) gave her confidence and showed her that she’s able to do that.”
Seven-time grand slam winner Venus Williams, who fell in three sets to Andreescu during the qualifying round of the Auckland Open in January, also had high praise for the youngster.
“We had a great match. It was a long time ago and I don’t remember that much, but I remember she played amazing,” Williams said Tuesday.
“And she’s already won a big tournament, so (she’s got) a lot ahead of her.”
Daria Kasatkina — who upset Angelique Kerber — Andreescu’s opponent in the BNP Paribas Open final, said she was quite aware of the Mississauga native’s feat at Indian Wells, but expected a tough fight regardless of which Canadian she would end up facing in the second round.
“I like battles like this, I (haven’t played against either) of them, I just practised with Eugenie a few times,” said Kasatkina, who is ranked No. 40, Monday night.
“For sure, it’s going to be very tough match, whoever wins, so I have to prepare well.”
It turns out it will be Andreescu, who’s confident she’s back to the form that had many crowning her the next face of Canadian tennis.
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