Bianca Andreescu continues to shine on her return to tennis with the 24-year-old Canadian seeing off Jaqueline Cristian 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round at Wimbledon and one away from her best in the tournament.
Andreescu has battled with a back injury and had nearly a year off the sport with a stress fracture continuing to derail her. A player that has not thrived since winning the US Open, it has been injury after injury.
But the glimmers of 2019 have always been there and she will hope to just stay injury free now. As she said after beating Cristian, she never wants to take tennis for granted again as it can soon switch as she knows better than most. The 24-year-old said it is all about enjoying her tennis, with Andreescu as she said never really even having a full year on the WTA Tour during her career.
Next up is Linda Noskova, the 26th seed. But it is a part of the draw that has supremely opened up with Sabalenka and Azarenka withdrawing due to shoulder injuries. So a big chance will present itself again. Albeit she will have to face Jasmine Paolini likely again who she lost to at Roland Garros.
But Andreescu who also gave a rendition of Oh Canada on court after her win is in a good place and hoping to continue her good form on her injury return.
“Having time off from the sport gives me the perspective of ‘wow, it feels so good to actually play.’ I never wanna take it for granted. I don’t think I ever had a full year on tour. To be back playing, I wanna enjoy myself for sure and do as much as I can physically to not get hurt. Playing for the fans & my supporters.. I really enjoy playing on big courts like this, so I wanna keep it up.”
Bianca Andreescu after beating Cristian at Wimbledon: “Having time off from the sport gives me the perspective of ‘wow, it feels so good to actually play.’ I never wanna take it for granted. I don’t think I ever had a full year on tour. To be back playing, I wanna enjoy myself…
