"At one point I just said, 'F it'" - Andreescu following sensational comeback at Roland Garros
WTA
Bianca Andreescu has reacted to her stunning first-round comeback win against Ysaline Bonaventure at the 2022 Roland Garros.
Andreescu was very close to facing an early shock elimination against Bonaventure, who is ranked nearly 100 places below the Canadian in the WTA Rankings. The Belgian qualifier took the first set with a 6-3 win before Andreescu responded with a nervy 7-5 win in the second, and she wrapped up the opening match with a 6-0 triumph in the third.
During the final two sets, Andreescu managed to win nine consecutive games to complete the comeback and eventually impose her dominance on Bonaventure. At one stage, the Canadian trailed 4-5 in the second set before digging in and progressing to round two.
During her post-match comments, Andreescu was fully aware that she did not meet her expected standard in the first-round encounter. While the world number 72 also praised Bonaventure's gameplay, she also admitted that she felt nervous about playing at the Roland Garros, which perhaps impacted her below form first half of the match.
"The match was definitely all over the place for me, I feel my nerves at the beginning got the best of me. I was pretty nervous coming into the match. I really wanted to do well at controlling that."
"I think I did well, but maybe my tennis wasn't there as I would like it. But also, she played amazing tennis. She really executed the right tactics."
The win moves Andreescu into the second round of the French Open for just the second time in her career. In 2019, the Canadian player won the US Open title by defeating Serena Williams in the final, but she has never progressed past round four at a Grand Slam competition since.
During her contest with Bonaventure, it appeared at times like Andreescu was heading towards another disappointing showing at a major competition.
The 21-year-old did reveal post-match that there was one occasion when she felt she needed to go on the attack to pressurize her opponent—a tactic that could work well moving into the second round in Paris.
"At one point I just said, 'F it', and I started going for more because I feel that was the only thing I could do. But when I really stayed committed to putting more pressure, that's when I feel like she also lost her cool, and I just kept increasing my level."
