Former world No. 4 Bianca Andreescu admitted to feeling nerves at the start of her French Open first round match and she revealed the turning point for her was when she told herself ‘f— it.”
Andreescu, now ranked at No. 72 in the world, entered the match versus 168th-ranked Ysaline Bonaventure as the big favorite but she was made to work hard before clinching a 3-6 7-5 6-0 win.
Bonaventure made a quick start to the match as she led 6-3 3-1 but Andreescu refused to quit as she broke the Belgian in the fifth and 11th games of the second set to overturn the deficit and force a decider.
After overcoming a second set deficit and forcing a third set, Andreescu bageled Bonaventure in the third set to complete a comeback win.
“The match was definitely all over the place for me,” Andreescu said, per Tennis Up To Date. “I feel my nerves at the beginning got the best of me. I was pretty nervous coming into the match. I really wanted to do well at controlling that. I think I did well, but maybe my tennis wasn’t there as I would like it. But also, she played amazing tennis. She really executed the right tactics.”
Andreescu: I just said ‘f— it’
Down by a set and a break, Andreescu felt she had nothing to lose anymore and that was when she started playing much better.
“At one point I just said, ‘F it’, and I started going for more because I feel that was the only thing I could do,” Andreescu said. “But when I really stayed committed to putting more pressure, that’s when I feel like she also lost her cool, and I just kept increasing my level.”
It wasn’t an ideal start for Andreescu but at least she managed to survive a tough opener at Roland Garros.
Andreescu now faces a tough second round opponent as she plays Belinda Bencic next.