National Bank Open: Andreescu cries from the heart

TORONTO | Her early career was strewn with injuries, sometimes serious enough to force her to be absent for long periods. And on Tuesday, during her first-round match in Toronto, Bianca Andreescu feared she was going to experience another of her painful bouts on the court.

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Stunned, seeing double at times, according to her explanations, the Canadian had to call on the healer twice. The latter also checked her blood pressure on the ground in the first round.

The other visit came during the tiebreaker, which Andreescu eventually won.

“I’m sorry for my attitude, I don’t know what was wrong with me,” the 22-year-old apologized on the pitch after her victory in two tight sets against world ninth-placed Daria Kasatkina.

“Maybe I ate too much at dinner,” added the 2019 champion with a laugh. Or maybe it was the stress of coming back to play here…”

She saw the reviews

On social networks, these two medical breaks taken in the middle of the match have earned her share of criticism for the Canadian, 53^e world.

And although she said before the start of the tournament to try to stay away from them as often as possible, so as not to be affected by negative comments, Andreescu clearly took notice of what was written about her. .

So much so that on her Instagram account, the former fourth best player in the world felt the need to respond to her detractors after this match.

“I never meant to cause any harm or be a distraction to my opponent,” she wrote. […] It makes me sad that some people believe that. We athletes, we get injured, we get sick… the last thing you want is to expend even more energy on it, especially if it’s wrong.

“Yes, I would have preferred to be able to hide [mon état]but I am human after all,” the Ontarian continued.

In a press conference after her victory in the second round, against Alizé Cornet, Andreescu explained that she does not usually speak about this kind of comments she receives.

” Most [cette fois]I wanted to do it for all the athletes, and not just for me,” she said.

“When I make these kinds of statements, I hope it will silence them. Maybe it won’t work, but hey…” she concluded with a laugh.