NEW YORK -- Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu claimed her first Grand Slam title in a hard-hitting, nerve-jangling 6-3 7-5 win over Serena Williams on Saturday that put the brakes on the American's bid to equal the all-time record.
Andreescu matched Williams' power throughout the slugfest and kept her composure under intense pressure to fend off a late comeback from the six-times champion.
The 19-year-old dropped her racket after hitting a blistering forehand return winner on match point to seal victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium and collapsed on her back after embracing her defeated opponent.
"It's so hard to explain (what the win means) in words," Andreescu said.
"I'm just beyond grateful and truly blessed. I've worked really, really hard for this moment and I can't complain. This year has been a dream come true," she added before collecting her $3.85 million winner's cheque.
"And now to be able to play on this stage against Serena, a true legend of the sport, is amazing."
Andreescu, the first Canadian to win a major in the professional era, prevented Williams from equalling Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
Williams, who has been denied the milestone in four slam finals since claiming her last major title at the Australian Open in 2017, was gracious in defeat.
"Bianca played an unbelievable match," she said.
"If anyone else could win the U.S. Open -- except for Venus -- I'm glad it's Bianca," she said with a laugh, referring to her older sister who had cheered her on from the players' box, which also included Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.
IMMEDIATE PRESSURE
The fearless Andreescu pressured Williams 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 Williams 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, Williams 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.
Yet Andreescu, who covered her ears at times, regained her steely composure to cross the finish line with an emphatic forehand winner, her 19th of the match.
For Williams, 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 Williams and thumping down five aces of her own.
While a fierce and fiery competitor on the court, Andreescu apologised to the disappointed crowd for beating the home favourite .
"I know you guys wanted Serena to win. I'm so sorry," she said.
METEORIC RISE
While Andreescu was a virtual unknown before this year having never made it past the second-round of a Grand Slam tournament before, Saturday's breakthrough win did not register as a shock in the tennis world.
She had made her presence felt by storming to the Indian Wells title in March and after a knee injury forced her to pull out of the Miami and Rome tournaments earlier this year after just one match, she won the Rogers Cup in Toronto last month.
She came into Flushing Meadows seeded 15th and many thought her bruising groundstrokes, creative shotmaking and speedy defence would give any opponent trouble.
That has proved especially true for the world's best players, who she seems to reserve her best tennis for.
With her win over world number eight Williams she improved to 8-0 this year against top 10 opponents.
After ending last year ranked 178 in the world, she will reach a career high of number five on Monday.
Asked if she planned to be greedy in her pursuit of more Grand Slam glory, she said: "I think so.
"I love this feeling too much."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MIAMI -- Roger Federer remains on course for the 101st title of his career after Serbian Filip Krajinovic was dispatched 7-5 6-3 on Monday at the ATP and WTA Miami Open.
The Swiss superstar produced an excellent all-round performance despite being tested by the world number 103 who belied his lowly ranking by producing some excellent tennis during an exciting first set.
Federer, however, stylishly weathered the storm to seal the win - the 52nd of his career in Miami - to move into the quarter-finals and a match with either American Reilly Opelka or Daniil Medvedev.
"It was a difficult start, he's a great returner so I knew I had to up my percentages and I served really well," said Federer, who hit 14 aces and won an impressive 74% of points on his first serve.
"It was more humid today so I am just delighted to get through."
Krajinovic struggled badley with injury last year, problems with his ankle, left foot and hand restricting him to just seven tournaments in the first seven months of 2018.
Yet the Serb had looked impressive in his run to the third round, especially after dispatching Stan Wawrinka on the way to Monday's meeting with Federer.
Some fierce hitting from the back of the court surprised the predictably pro-Federer crowd at Hard Rock Stadium and a brilliant run and flick over the net handed helped set up an early break for 3-2.
Keeping the pressure on, however, was a different matter.
Federer immediately broke back and although chances continued to present themselves to Krajinovic - he missed the opportunity to break the Swiss star’s serve at 5-5 - it was the 20 time Grand Slam winning champion who prevailed.
At 6-5, Federer went 15-40 up on the Serbian's service game and another backhand winner gave the 37-year-old the lead.
The second set wasn't as competitive, Federer easing 3-0 up as the wind was taken out of the Serb's sails.
He lost the final game to love with the three time Miami Open winner easing home in style to finish with 36 winners compared to the 27 year-old's 18.
In the women's draw, Bianca Andreescu, the 18-year-old Canadian sensation who won the title in Indian Wells, was forced to withdraw in the second set of her fourth round match with Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit.
Andreescu was 1-6 0-2 down before a shoulder injury ruined her chances of another run to the finals.
Petra Kvitova, the world number 3, booked her place in the last eight, beating Caroline Garcia 6-3 6-3 in a match which was held up for one hour and 40 minutes because of rain in South Florida.
Kvitova plays Australian Ashleigh Barty for a place in the semi-finals.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu stunned three-times Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber 6-4 3-6 6-4 to win the BNP Paribas Open and capture her first career title in Indian Wells on Sunday.
Andreescu used creative and aggressive shot-making to defeat the German despite suffering with a troublesome right shoulder and leg cramps on a hot and sunny day in the Southern California desert.
The 18-year-old dropped her racket and fell on her back when Kerber hit a backhand into the net on match point to deliver the tournament wildcard the victory.
"It wasn't an easy match. It was one of the toughest matches I've ever played," she said in an on-court interview. "It's so incredible."
Andreescu would love to follow in the footsteps of world number one Naomi Osaka of Japan, who won the tournament last year before claiming the U.S. and Australian Open titles.
"The next is a Grand Slam. Let's see where this can take me," said the unseeded teenager who is ranked 60th in the world but will rise to 24th on Monday.
"Naomi did this last year. Now to have my name in front of so many champions it means the world to me."
Andreescu played fearlessly at the outset, breaking the former world number one in the opening game of the match and taking the first set.
The eighth seed battled back to claim the second and looked like she would cruise to the finish line when she broke to go up 3-2 in the third after Andreescu needed a medical time out to have her heavily taped right shoulder worked on by a trainer.
Momentum swung in Andreescu's direction when she broke back to level the set at 3-3 and held serve to love in the next game.
Nerves appeared to get to Andreescu near the end, when Kerber saved three match points behind some stout defence.
But Andreescu broke the German in the next game to claim the title and become the youngest woman to win at Indian Wells since 17-year-old Serena Williams in 1999.
"Hopefully this moment can be a great inspiration for many young athletes," she said.
"If you believe in yourself anything is possible. This moment has become a reality so it's really, really crazy."
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; editing by Clare Lovell and Ken Ferris)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
INDIAN WELLS -- Canadian sensation Bianca Andreescu toppled sixth-ranked Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 on Friday and will face Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber for the WTA title in Indian Wells.
Germany's Kerber, ranked eighth in the world, ended Belinda Bencic's 12-match winning streak with a 6-4, 6-2 victory to reach the final in the California desert for the first time in her third semi-final appearance.
Kerber won the last four games of the opening set and the last three games of the second to subdue Bencic, who was coming off her first WTA title in four years in Dubai.
The 22-year-old Swiss, whose career was disrupted by a string of back and wrist injuries, had beaten six top-10 players in her winning streak, including world number one and defending Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka in the fourth round here.
But she couldn't find a way past Kerber, who broke Bencic from 30-0 down in the final game of the opening set.
Kerber dropped her serve in the opening game of the second set, but broke Bencic twice to lead 3-1 before the Swiss clawed back another break.
But Kerber, taking full advantage of Bencic's 27 unforced errors in the match, won the next three games, to clinch it.
"It's always tough to play against Belinda," Kerber said. "She played so great in the past few weeks.
"I was trying to focus only on my side of the court. I was trying to play concentrated, and going for it when I had the chance.
"I really enjoy the semi-finals here - it was already twice here, and I'm really happy to be in the final for the first time now."
Kerber, 31, will be playing 18-year-old Andreescu for the first time.
"I'm really looking forward to a really tough battle. She's here as a wild card, and she beat a lot of good players," Kerber said. "She has nothing to lose, she enjoys her tennis and she's a great player."
Andreescu, ranked 60th in the world after starting the year at 152, continued a stellar run that included a quarter-final victory over former world number one Garbine Muguruza.
She's the first wild card to reach the women's final at Indian Wells.
- Making history -
"It's incredible," she beamed when told of the achievement. "Another goal of mine was to make history and I just did."
"I really need a moment to soak this all in. This is just so incredible," an emotional Andreescu told the crowd. "This past week has been a dream come true."
Andreescu, who came through qualifying to reach the final at Auckland and made the semi-finals in Acapulco in February, had to dig deep to close it out against Svitolina, who saved on match point against her serve in the penultimate game to force Andreescu to serve it out.
It would take three more match points for a weary-looking Andreescu to succeed, when another baseline rally ended with Svitolina firing a forehand into the net.
"I really need a moment to soak all this in," said an emotional Andreescu, who was battling cramp in the closing games.
"I think the cramping was because I was so stressed out with everything," Andreescu said. "But I have had many moments like this in the past, playing Challenger events, juniors. Breathing really helps for me, so I took a lot of deep breaths and I tried not to get mad at myself. It really worked.
"It was a roller coaster," she said. "I'm really happy I pulled through."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
