Bianca Andreescu: 'Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters were my favorite players..'

Ranked 6th in the world, Bianca Andreescu may not play at all in 2020, dealing with a knee injury since the end of the previous season and not being able to return at 100% in January and February. The young Canadian gained almost 150 places on the WTA list in 2019, winning notable titles in Indian Wells, Toronto and the US Open to become one of the best players in the world and the first Major champion from Canada. After that incredible result in Indian Wells, Bianca had to skip almost all the events until Toronto due to a shoulder injury suffered in Miami, making a perfect return in front of the home fans and gaining confidence ahead of New York where she wrote history as the first teenager with major crown since 2006.

Reducing the schedule after the US Open, Andreescu couldn't avoid that nasty knee injury at the WTA Finals, staying sidelined ever since and hoping for a strong comeback once the coronavirus allows the restart of the season. Speaking with Boris Becker, Mats Wilander and Felix Auger-Aliassime from her home in Toronto, Bianca revealed Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters as her childhood idols, watching their matches when she was little and noticing how calm and composed they always were. 

"I grew up as an only kid and my parents' goal was to raise an independent child. That means I was able to travel by myself without them. When I was younger, I was crazy on the court, smashing racquets after matches as I always wanted to compete at my best; when I didn't, I would get so down on myself. I realized that would not help me and I started to study a lot of players, Kim Clijsters and Roger Federer in particular. They were my favorite players while growing up; I watched a lot of their matches and they were so calm and composed. They had a complete game style and that's how I wanted to be." 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3cvQ1wF