By Canadian Press

Canadian Bianca Andreescu has her first WTA title, winning BNP Paribas Open

Mar 17, 2019 | 3:45 PM

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Canadian Bianca Andreescu has her first WTA title.

The unseeded 18-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., upset eighth-seeded German Angelique Kerber 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the women’s final at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday.

“Hopefully this moment can be a great inspiration for many young athletes because like I always say if you believe in yourself anything is possible,” Andreescu said afterwards in her on-court interview. “And like my mom always told me through the years, if you work hard, you dream big to get big then you can accomplish so many things.

“That’s what I’ve been doing throughout many years and now this moment has become a reality so it’s really, really crazy.”

Meanwhile, Dominic Thiem edged error-prone Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to win the men’s final, denying Federer a record sixth title in the desert.

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Andreescu has become a major story on the women’s circuit this year. With the victory Sunday, Andreescu has won 28-of-31 matches this season and becomes the first wild-card entry to capture this event.

She is projected to rise 36 spots to No. 24 in the WTA Tour rankings on Monday.

Andreescu earned (US)$1,354,010 million for the victory and received lavish praise from none other than the legendary Rod Laver.

“A star is born, congratulations @Bandreescu_ what a fighter you are,” Laver tweeted after the match.

The Canadian followed in the footsteps of Naomi Osaka, who was a little-known 20-year-old when she won the title last year. Osaka used it as a springboard to win titles at the U.S. and Australian opens while ascending to the No. 1 ranking in January.

“Yeah, it’s been a crazy ride. Truly a Cinderella story. Naomi did this last year. And now to be able to have my name in front of so many amazing champions is, it means the world to me,” said Andreescu. 

Andreescu needed roughly 40 minutes to take the opening set. Neither player served well — Andreescu was 60 per cent on first serve while Kerber was at 67 per cent — but the Canadian held serve throughout and won all of the points on her second serve, compared to just 55 per cent for Kerber.

The German also had 14 unforced errors in the opening set.

The two remained on serve to start the second set, although Andreescu seriously threatened to get another break in the third game. But the German repeatedly held the surging Canadian off before going ahead 2-1.

And Kerber forced the Canadian to continue to work hard in the fourth game, registering a break on some Andreescu unforced errors for the 3-1 advantage. Then the German again held serve to win a third straight game for commanding 4-1 lead.

And after Kerber held serve to go ahead 5-2, Andreescu showed her frustration by repeatedly banging her racket on the surface as she left the court. The two then held serve, with Kerber serving out the set 6-3.

Kerber played a much more aggressive game in the set as Andreescu had 19 unforced errors. And the German was 1-for-1 in break chances while the Canadian was 0-for-2.

The two again held serve to start the third set but Andreescu required medical treatment on her right arm/shoulder after going ahead 2-1. However the German took control of the set with a break to go ahead 3-2 when Andreescu put a shot into the net.

At the break, Andreescu told her coach, Sylvain Bruneau, “My feet were burning” and that she was having trouble moving. Bruneau calmly encouraged his pupil to continue battling and competing.

Andreescu took the advice to heart. She broke Kerber to tie the match 3-3, held serve to surge ahead 4-3. then broke the German again for a commanding 5-3 advantage with the chance to serve for the title.

Andreescu had three championship points but couldn’t pull the trigger. Kerber secured the break when Andreescu’s attempted drop shot went into the net to pull to within 5-4 as the Canadian received some treatment on her right leg at the break.

Again, Andreescu looked fine once play resumed, capping her impressive tournament run by converting the fourth championship point for the break and career first. And upon capturing the victory, she kissed the playing surface then laid on it before acknowledging the crowd.

“I just want to enjoy this moment, because I don’t want to take anything for granted,” said Andreescu. “You never know what next week brings. I just want to savor this.”

Thiem trailed 4-3 and 5-4 in the third set before breaking Federer with a forehand winner to go up 6-5. Thiem served out the two-hour match Sunday that ended with another error from Federer, a forehand dumped into the net.

“It just feels unreal what happened,” Thiem said. “He’s such a legend.”

Federer was in the final for the third straight year and lost for the second year in a row. He was beaten in a third-set tiebreaker by Juan Martin del Potro last year. Federer won his 100th career title in Dubai recently.

“Just came up against somebody who was on the day a bit better when it really mattered,” Federer said. “I have been in these positions so many times that I get over it very quickly.”

Thiem had lost in his previous two ATP Masters 1000 finals. But the 25-year-old Austrian’s solid serve held up against Federer as it had throughout the tournament.

Thiem was broken just four times out of 61 service games in the tournament. He didn’t lose serve during his semifinal win over Canada’s Milos Raonic, facing only one break point in that match.

— With filed from The Associated Press

The Canadian Press