Canada’s Andreescu rockets up 45 positions after reaching Auckland final

She also won three qualifying matches and dispatched Taiwan’s Su-wei Hsieh and Timea Babos of Hungary in the main draw. In the final, Andreescu pushed the 14th-ranked German to a decisive third set.

The 18-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., rocketed 45 positions to a career-high No. 107 in the latest world rankings.

“I think it was an incredible performance by Bianca,” Borfiga said from Montreal. “I was surprised because she won (some) matches quite easily. She beat Babos in two sets, she beat Wozniacki in two sets. Against Williams, after losing the first set, she went 6-1, 5-0, and she won the semifinal in two sets.

“That means that she has been good and her level has been very high. It’s a good sign for the rest of the year.”

It was Andreescu’s first career WTA final and fourth appearance in a main draw on the Tour. She earned US$21,400 for finishing second.

Australian Open qualifying begins Tuesday at Melbourne Park. Andreescu, seeded fourth in the 128-player draw, will likely open Wednesday against world No. 181 Katie Swan of Britain.

There are 16 qualifier spots up for grabs in the 128-player main draw. Andreescu’s recent ranking was not high enough for direct entry.

Andreescu won a pair of tournaments on the lower-level Challenger series last fall. She also has an 8-3 record in Fed Cup play since her debut on the national team in 2017.

“It’s a long way to be (elite),” Borfiga said. “She has to do it step by step. First to reach the top 100 and then the top 50. But the ranking is coming for sure. But it will not be easy to make the final every week.”

Andreescu boasts a well-rounded game that is well suited to any surface. She has the power to blast away from the baseline and will often change the tempo with slice shots and drops.

Borfiga hopes she’ll continue to make strides with her service game and her fitness as she works with national women’s coach Sylvain Bruneau.

“I think one of the necessities for Bianca is to not only think about the ranking, but to think about improving her game day after day,” he said. “To be ready to win a tournament on the WTA and maybe later, a big tournament.

“But (if she can) improve on the physical side and on the technical side day after day, after that the results will come for sure.”

Two other Canadians will play in the women’s qualifying draw. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino lost to American Caroline Dolehide 6-2, 6-2, and Toronto’s Katherine Sebov faces Jessika Ponchet of France.

In men’s play, No. 2 qualifying seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal defeated Belgium’s Arthur De Greef 6-2, 7-6. Tenth-seeded Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., beat American Ernesto Escobedo 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, and Brayden Schnur of Pickering, Ont., meets Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak.

Eugenie Bouchard is the top Canadian on the new women’s rankings list at No. 79. The 24-year-old from Westmount, Que., rose eight positions after reaching the quarterfinals in Auckland.

Romania’s Simona Halep remained No. 1 in an unchanged top three that includes Germany’s Angelique Kerber and Wozniacki.

Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., is the top Canadian at No. 17 on the ATP list. Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., is No. 27 and Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil is No. 71.

The top three includes Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Switzerland’s Roger Federer.

Pospisil won’t play in the Australian Open because of a back injury.

Shapovalov, meanwhile, lost his first match of 2019 on Monday, dropping a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 decision to Joao Sousa of Portugal at the ASB Classic.

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Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Canada’s Andreescu rockets up 45 positions after reaching Auckland final

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