"Key was keeping my composure" says Andreescu after winning close match against Riske

Bianca Andreescu played a solid match against Riske to move on to R3 of the BNP Paribas Masters in Indian Wells but the Canadian complicated matters more than she needed.

It was a very close affair for Bianca Andreescu who needed over two hours to defeat Riske in three sets 7-6(2) 5-7 6-2. It was something of a roller-coaster match by Andreescu who was pretty good in the first set outlasting her opponent in the tiebreak. She practically threw away the 2nd after being up a break but rallied to win in three. After the match she said:

"I felt like I could have raised my level a little bit more throughout the match because that's what she did, that's how she came back in those important moments."

Instead of doing that Andreescu faltered in the 2nd set playing some very questionable tennis with a lot of errors. However, she was able to come back stronger in the 3rd taking an early break which allowed her to cruise to a routine finish. On that she said:

"But I think the key for me today was to keep my composure as much as I can and not to feel the pressure of the crowd or being the defending champion. I think I dealt with that better in the third set."

She indeed did seem very composed in the 3rd set however she is making it a lot tougher on herself which is something that has consistently plagued her throughout 2021. Even her best outing, at the Miami Open earlier in the year, featured a lot of mileage on her body with numerous 3-set matches that resulted in her retiring from the final due to an injury.

She faces a red-hot and rested Anett Kontaveit who played some of the best tennis of her life in the past few weeks. Another tough test for the defending champion.