The Canadian teenage sensation Bianca Andreescu defeated Elise Mertens this Wednesday and secured the semifinals at US Open. The final result was 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Andreescu, who is surprising the world in recent times, managed to come back and win, proving that she has the material to be the best in this sport. She will need to defeat Belinda Bencic in order to enter her first Grand Slam finals.
The youngster couldn’t believe what is happening to her.
“I need someone to pinch me right now. Is this real life?” said Andreescu in a post-match interview on the court.
The first set wasn’t that good for the Canadian who just couldn’t find her usual rhythm. Plus, it seems that Mertens adjusted to the circumstances better, and caught her breath easier.
Humidity was very high inside the Arthur Ashe stadium, and there wasn’t very much of fresh air due to the new constructions. Also, it appears that the bugs which were flying all over the place troubled Adreescu very much. It is because of that and the opponent’s good play that Andreescu lost that part of the game.
While Mertens had fantastic second serve and won merely 82% of points after it, the Canadian had a poor 26% in that aspect of the event. In general, as we said, she looked terrible.
But things changed in the second sequence. Bianca made a break instantly for 2-0 but lost her serve afterwards. Still, she once again took the service from the Belgian player at for 4-2, and quickly got this part if the event.
At that points, it was evident that the tide had changed and that now Andreescu has a swing. After all, she is known to be a specialist for the third set, as she won 12 straight three-set matches, including this one.
In the third one, she broke Mertens’ serve in the eight game and took a 5-4 lead, easily closing the clash on her service.
This is her first semis of one Grand Slam, and the talented player recalled the situation from the last year’s edition here at Flushing Meadows. Back then, she was trying to reach the main draw through qualifiers.
“This is honestly so crazy,” she said. “A year ago, I was in the qualifying round. I was suffering from a back injury. And now, what I’ve accomplished this year, I’m speechless.”
The No. 13 Belinda Bencic is her next opponent. The Swiss defeated Donna Vekic, to reach also the first-ever Grand Slam semifinals. She would previously stop the reigning champion Naomi Osaka from defending her title here in New York.
Andreescu has a nice chance to reach the finals, as Bencic is not the caliber of player who is unbeatable. She has her flaws, and according to many experts, the Canadian is the favorite in this event. Meanwhile, the second semis will be between the six-time champion here Serena Williams and the fifth-seed here Elina Svitolina. Both matches will take place this Thursday, while the finals are set for Saturday.
