NEW YORK: Bianca Andreescu knew this would happen, because she knows all about Serena Williams. Looked up to her. Dreamed of playing her.
Andreescu knew Serena would not go quietly. Knew Serena would not make things easy. And so as a big lead in the US Open final dwindled on Saturday, as she stuffed fingers in her ears to drown out the decibels from the delirious thousands filling Arthur Ashe Stadium, Andreescu knew she needed to be just as bold, and hit just as big, as she did earlier in the match and as Williams has done for years.
Displaying the same brand of in-your-face tennis Williams seemed to invent, replete with strong serves, gutsy groundstrokes and “Come on!” cries, the 19-year-old Andreescu regained the upper hand and pulled out a 6-3, 7-5 victory at Flushing Meadows to win her first Grand Slam title and keep Serena from collecting a record-tying 24th.
“I’m sure I’m not the only person that’s looked up to her. She’s an inspiration to many, many people, not only athletes. What she’s done off the court, too. She’s truly a champion. Above all, she’s very kind-hearted. She came up to me in the locker room, she said some really nice things, which I’ll cherish for a really, really long time,” Andreescu said about the 37-year-old Serena.
“I’ve really strived to be like her,” Andreescu said. “Who knows? Maybe I can be even better.” That’s quite a heady goal. Still, this was certainly a good place to start.
Andreescu is the first woman in the Open era, which began in 1968, to win the championship in New York in her tournament debut; a year ago, she couldn’t even make it into the field, because she lost in the first round of qualifying. She is the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990 to lift the trophy in only her fourth Grand Slam tournament. She is the first player from Canada to win a Grand Slam singles title.
This is the second year in a row that Serena has lost in the final at Flushing Meadows. This one had none of the controversy of 2018, when she got into an extended argument with the chair umpire while being beaten by Naomi Osaka.
Serena has now been the runner-up at four of the seven majors she has entered since returning to the tour after having a baby two years ago. The American remains stuck on 23 Grand Slam singles titles, one shy of Margaret Court’s mark for the most in history.
“I’m not necessarily chasing a record. I’m just trying to win Grand Slams. It’s definitely frustrating, you know,” Serena said.
She gave credit to Andreescu for playing well, but also said: “I honestly didn’t play my best today. I could have played better. That’s the only solace that I can take right now.”
The fearless Andreescu pressured Serena from the outset, electing to receive after winning the coin toss and immediately breaking her childhood idol.
Shouting “come on” after winning key points, Andreescu’s vicious forehands kept Serena on the back foot while costly errors, including a double fault on set point in the first, put the American in an early hole.
With her back against the wall trailing 5-1 and facing championship point, Serena mounted a spirited comeback to draw level at 5-5, leading to deafening roars from the packed crowd in the biggest tennis stadium in the world.
“I was just fighting at that point, just trying to stay out there a little bit longer,” said Serena, feeding off the energy of 24,000 cheering fans as she briefly sparked hopes of an incredible comeback. “The fans started cheering so hard it made me start playing a little bit better and fighting a little bit more.”
The Canadian stemmed the bleeding by holding for 6-5 and an errant Serena backhand handed Andreescu two more shots at the title. Serena saved the first with an ace but Andreescu secured victory on the next with a blistering forehand return.
For Serena, her normally trusty serve proved her undoing.
She only managed to put 44 percent of her first serves in play and her nine aces were almost offset by eight double faults, three of which came on break points.
Andreescu was the sharper of the pair, committing almost half as many unforced errors as Serena and thumping down five aces of her own. She was fearless, always pushing, always aggressive.
“We’re really similar,” Serena said, “in terms of we both are fighters and we both are really intense.” Talk about a compliment.
Andreescu agreed. To a point.
“We like to keep the points short with our aggressive game style. We like to use our serve to our advantage,” Andreescu said. “I think we fight really, really hard.
“But at the same time,” she said, “I want to make a name for myself.”
