“Wasn’t Easy”: Bianca Andreescu Survives Scare at Australian Open 2021

2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu took on Romanian tennis player Mihaela Buzarnescu in her opening round match at the Australian Open on Monday. The two players have been on two occasions prior to this, with each of them winning one match. In their third meeting at the season’s first Grand Slam event, the World No. 7 fought back to win the match 6-2 4-6 6-3. 

In the opening set, the Canadian superstar struck her opponent early and kept on putting the pressure on her serve. Bianca targeted Mihaela’s second serve, leaving the Romanian with only 38% points won on her second serve. As a result, she broke Buzarnescu twice and comfortably sealed the set 6-2 in her favor. 

Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 8, 2021 Canada’s Bianca Andreescu with Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu after their first round match REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

As the second set began, the Romanian player served better as compared to her first set performance. She held her service games with effect and hanged on until she sensed an opportunity. In the fifth game of the set, Mihaela grabbed the chance and handed her opponent her first break in the match, and consolidated it by holding her serve to take a healthy 4-2 lead. The Romanian eventually took the second set 6-4. 

In the final deciding set, Bianca began and took a 1-0 lead. The Canadian faced a tense situation when she was 0-40 down and came back to hold her serve, to make it 4-3. In the following game, Bianca got the needed break after her opponent made a forehand unforced error. After a little over two hours, Andreescu served to win the set 6-3. 

Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 8, 2021 Canada’s Bianca Andreescu is interviewed after winning her first round match against Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

After winning the match, Bianca said, “Today’s match wasn’t easy at all. I’m super happy with the way I fought till the end. To beat Mihaela, a fellow Romanian, I played her twice in the past and it’s always been a tough match. I’m super super happy.I was missing a lot of balls today. I don’t want to be too hard on myself, it’s my first match and I believe in my capabilities. In my next match, I’ll need to raise my level a little more.”

The Canadian star will take on Su-Wei Hsieh in the second round on Wednesday. Bianca’s best performance at the Australian Open was in 2019 when she came as far as the second round.  

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