Bianca Andreescu recently asserted that she has lost some of her most valuable qualities from her breakout 2019 season but is hoping to regain them at the 2024 Roland Garros.
Playing in her first match since August 2023, Andreescu delivered a timeless reminder of her skillset and fighting spirit to score an unexpected win against the tireless Sara Sorribes Tormo in the first round of the French Open.
It was also Andreescu's first victory on tour in precisely ten months. It was far from a straightforward win for the Canadian, who battled for an hour to win a tight first set 7-5. That gave her the platform and confidence to saunter in the second set, where she broke the Spaniard's serve three times.
An emotional Andreescu, who had been training for a while on clay before coming to Roland Garros, was delighted to get her season off the mark. She had been nursing a stress fracture in her back since the WTA 1000 in Toronto in the second half of last season.
"I am putting in the work. [After] frickin' four months, I would hope that I'd see some improvement on the court. I'm happy. I don't want to focus on anything negative."
"I feel that today really showed all the work that I've been putting in practice. I feel it was a great first round. I feel that I have some rhythm going into the second round."
In the same post-match press conference, the 23-year-old was asked whether she has compared herself to her 2019 version. The former US Open champion explained that she is an "overthinker" and is of the view that the past can have a positive impact on her playing career.
"For me, it's inevitable. I am an overthinker. I do want to use the past to help me now. How I played in 2019 was incredible, and I do want to maybe not so much game-wise, but more of the mentality going into 2019. I was super fearless and very competitive. I fought for everything."
"It was always the same mindset. And I feel like that's what I lost over the years, and I have no idea why and how But just getting into that mentality and groove of 2019 is the only thing I'm looking at."
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