Bianca Andreescu cracks the top 50 and sets sights on No. 1
Bianca Andreescu defeated Wang Qiang 7-5, 6-2 to cement her place in the BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals and consequently she will crack the world’s top 50 for the first time when the new rankings are released on Monday.
“Amazing is an understatement right now. It's incredible. I'm just grateful. Yeah, that's really all I can say,” Andreescu said smiling in her post match presser. At 18 years old she becomes the youngest BNP Paribas Open quarterfinalist in a decade. “I'm playing Muguruza tomorrow. I have watched her play many times on TV, so it's just crazy to think that I'll be competing against her.”
“It's really crazy. If someone told me at the beginning of the year that I would be top 50 during Indian Wells, I would have told them that they're crazy. But if I can continue doing this, then I think I can do really great things. For me, the sky's the limit. I believe that anything is possible.”
Andreescu overcame five double faults against Wang, winning 82 per cent of her first service points to seal the match in one hour and 28 minutes. But even she admitted, she didn’t expect to advance this far in the tournament after receiving a wildcard into the main draw.
“I honestly don't know how I won my first round (against Irina-Camelia Begu), because I wasn't feeling so well that day, and Begu was playing incredible. I think it was nice I had a day off after that to recover, and, yeah, the days in between really help a lot.”
Andreescu then went on to send grand slam finalist Dominika Cibulkova packing and subsequently defeated Sloane Stephen’s successor Stefanie Voegele in straight sets. She boasts a dazzling 25-3 win-loss record for the year, having won the Newport Beach 125K in January and reaching the final in Auckland boasting wins over Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams en route.
“I think confidence is almost everything for a player. If you trust your shots, if you trust your game, good things always happen. I think that's what's happening with me right now,” Andreescu said of her incredible results to date, indicating she hoped she could keep her good form going.
“That would be really nice. Obviously, I don't think it's going to be all butterflies and rainbows every day, but it has been so far, and just gonna take it one day at a time. Hopefully I can do a lot of great things this season.”
Andreescu now turns her focus to her quarterfinal battle against Muguruza. It will be their first meeting and the teenager - who started the year ranked 152nd in the world - is dreaming big.
“She's a hard hitter. She likes to use her serve to control the point. She fights really hard. She moves really well, as well. So she has the whole package. I have no doubt that it's gonna be a tough match tomorrow, but I'm going to go out there and play my game. I think I can win tomorrow, but I know it's going to be a tough match."
As for her goals for the next two months: “Top 10? Who knows? In this sport, in life, I think that anything is doable. Yeah. For me, No. 1 is to be the best player and person that I can be, on and off the court, and be an inspiration to others. I think it just gives me more purpose to play this game. I think I have been doing that really well. And who knows? Maybe if I win this tournament, I'll make even more history.”
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Tz9Qh6
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