Canadian teen Bianca Andreescu makes history in winning Tennis title at Indian Wells

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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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.”

Kerber, a former world No. 1, praised Andreescu afterwards.

“Congratulations to Bianca for an unbelievable tournament,” Kerber said. “You just played amazing the whole tournament and so you deserve to win the title here.”

The Canadian was also gracious to her German opponent.

“It was amazing to share the court with you today,” she said. “You are an incredible champion and an inspiration.”

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.

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.

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

Andreescu earned $1,354,010 million US for the victory.

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.

VideoWho is Canadian tennis sensation Bianca Andreescu?

“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.

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