Canada toasts ‘Queen B’ Andreescu after major triumph

Bianca Andreescu of Canada serves against Serena Williams of the United States (not pictured) in the womenÕs final on day thirteen of the 2019 US Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center – Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

TORONTO (Reuters): Most Canadians had never heard of Bianca Andreescu a year ago but on Sunday they woke up to realise her US Open triumph was not a dream and she had in fact claimed the country’s first Grand Slam singles title.

All of Canada, it seemed, was clinging on to Andreescu’s every shot during a bold and brilliant performance on Saturday in which she dominated rallies with punishing groundstrokes to overwhelm tennis great Serena Williams in straight sets.

The 19-year-old’s triumph, which came in her US Open main draw debut and against the undisputed queen of the sport, was the latest step in a meteoric rise for Andreescu and it dominated front pages across the country.

French-language newspaper Le Journal De Montreal crowned Andreescu the new queen with its “La Nouvelle Reine” headline, which featured a full-page photo of her on court kissing the US Open trophy.

“QUEEN B!,” read the Toronto Star’s front page headline.

For a country that produces many of the world’s best ice hockey players with regularity, having a Grand Slam singles champion to call their own is new territory.

Canada has had close Grand Slam calls in recent years with Eugenie Bouchard finishing runner-up at Wimbledon in 2014 and Milos Raonic losing the 2016 final in London but Andreescu’s run has captivated the country like tennis has never done before.

When Andreescu faced Williams inside Arthur Ashe Stadium she was cheered on at viewing parties across her home country, the type normally reserved for events like Olympic ice hockey finals featuring Canada but never before for tennis.

“Bianca Takes Major Bite Out of Big Apple,” read The Province newspaper in British Columbia while the front page of The Times Colonist in Vancouver called it “A day for history: Canada’s Andreescu wins US Open.”

Andreescu, who 2018 ranked 178th in the world, started to gain attention in January when she beat former world number ones Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams on her way to the Auckland final.

Andreescu, the daughter of Romanian immigrants to Canada, won her hometown tournament in Toronto and has not lost a completed match since March. She holds an 8-0 record over top-10 players in her career.