MIAMI OPEN PRESENTED BY ITAú

March 26, 2021

Bianca Andreescu

Press Conference

B. ANDREESCU/T. Martincova

7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. That's your first win in North America in quite a while. What are you most proud of from your win this evening?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I felt really good mentally out there. That's the one thing I feel like I was struggling a little bit in Australia, but I was just super positive and I fought for every ball no matter what the score was. Because in the first set she had set point, but I just kept fighting, and I think that was the thing I was most proud of.

Q. Speaking of Australia, you haven't played since the Phillip Island Trophy second week of the Australian Open tournament. Do you feel you benefited from some time away from the bubble, time away from the tour, to reset and come back strong?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: It's tough to say, because I was doing really well that year, and then it just came to a complete stop. I was ready to play at Indian Wells. Then COVID hit.

But it was good and bad in a way. I took a lot of time off just to reset and to take in everything that's been happening to me and also took care of my body well. I was able to spend more time with my friends and my family, which is very rare, because as a tennis player you're traveling all year round. So that was good.

But it stopped my momentum, and I made a tough decision not to play the rest of the year as well. But I think it was the best decision, so I can't really say I regret anything.

But now this is a situation I'm in, so I'm going to take it as much of in a positive way, and I think I'm doing that well. I think everything is coming together.

Q. One of our fans was asking how you found the heat today. How do you think you handled that physically? Confidence with athletes always ebbs and flows and the lack of play everyone talks about constantly with you. Where do you think your swagger is at on the court mentally compared to where it maybe has been in the past?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I like that word. It's different, that's for sure. It's another year. Very different conditions. Not a lot of fans.

I mean, I haven't played in a long time and it's my third tournament back. So it's a little bit different, but once I continue to play matches I know I'm going to get back into the groove of just being back on tour.

But I'm feeling really good. Like today I felt really good. I'm super proud of myself with how I handled everything. Even the heat. I was lucky to play fourth today, I think it was, especially for a first-round match. Well, second round, but my first match just to get used to everything.

It's not my favorite weather to play in, but I thought I dealt with it really well. My feet were burning at one point, but that's another story (smiling).

Q. You came through a tough tight first set. Did you feel after the first set you had like worn her down physically, mentally during the match?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, I felt that in the first set I wasn't as consistent as in the second set, but I think that tiebreaker really said a lot, because I started putting more pressure. I was getting to a lot of balls.

And then in the second set you could tell that she became a little discouraged, and she started going for more shots. But that's part of my game style. I want to be very physical out there. I don't want to let any ball go and just never give up.

I think that says a lot today in the match, and it showed.

Q. I see you're playing Amanda Anisimova next. Any thoughts on her?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I practiced actually with her the other day. I didn't know I was playing her. But I think it's going to be a great match.

She hits very flat, so I have to be ready for everything. She has a very good serve, but I'm feeling good out there and I think it's gonna be a very good match.

Q. This was your first match since Australia. How important were those three weeks of recovery after Australia, and how are you feeling physically now heading into this tournament?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: I think it was very beneficial for me just to reset and regroup after a really long preseason, and then just getting back into it. It was pretty overwhelming being back on tour, so I thought that little break was good. Took care of my body, took care of my mind. Now I'm back at it. So I'm feeling good.

Q. You have always struck me as one of the physically stronger players on tour, but you have also had some bad luck with injuries. Do you feel like in the time off you were able to strike that balance between preparation, match play, and recovery to kind of keep yourself at 100%?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: For sure. I reflected a lot on how the beginning of the year went in Australia, and I adjusted with how I wanted to be on court rather than how I didn't, because there was a lot to work on after Australia. So I did that a lot on court and also in the gym.

Like I was making sure that we were in good conditions because Miami is super freaking hot. So I was training at 12:00 every day so that I can get used to it, and I think it helped a lot.

Q. You are playing Amanda next. I was wondering if you remember playing her as a junior at Eddie Herr? Do you have any specific memories from that match and how surreal it will be to play for the first time on the WTA?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah. It's nice to have another junior player that I grew up with on tour now playing at a Premier event. It's super nice. That match was tough. I did lose. I was pretty pissed (smiling).

But Sunday is going to be another story. I'm a different player; she's a different player. I'm going to expect the unexpected.

Q. WTA Tour in 2021 is a lot different from what it was basically before the stop for the pandemic. Both this year and during last year when you were trying to recover from your injuries, was there something that the restrictions due to the pandemic did not allow you to do that you wanted to do that significantly affected the way you train, the way you play, the people you travel with, how you interact with your team? Has there been a time where the restrictions that you are forced to observe actually forced you to do something that you didn't want?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, yeah. I was restricted in training time on court. I was in Canada. Canada was super strict with their rules, so that was one.

And then I was affected personally by COVID. I didn't catch COVID, but just around me it was tough. So I made that tough decision with other things to take 2020 off, so that was tough.

And then just being away from home for a really long time, I know that as a tennis player, traveling a lot, but there are restrictions in place. You can only bring two, three people with you, so that's a little tough after you have been on the road for a long time.

But I think I'm managing everything in the best way that I can, and I know that I'm not the only one in this circumstance, so that helps a lot. Just being back on court with the pandemic is super, super awesome. It's a privilege, honestly. I know there isn't fans like there was back in the day. Feels like COVID has been going on for five years already (smiling). But it's nice to have at least 20, 30%.

But the vibe with my team I think is the same. I mean, we are family and we're all in the same situation and we're trying to support each other as much as I can, and it's working out well.

Q. Just jumping off that, in the last year and a half there are a lot of things just as regular people we haven't been able to do, go to movies, see concerts. I personally miss indoor spin classes. Is there anything you look forward to doing when things get back to normal that you haven't gotten to do yet?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Yeah, in Australia I got a little bit of a tease of how it would be without a pandemic, which was really nice. And I'm hoping that things will go back to normal ASAP.

But to answer your question, going to concerts is definitely one of them. Going to a restaurant as usual, for sure, that has to be up there. I mean, you're going to a restaurant. Sometimes you can't even get in because there is like maximum capacity, which sucks. What else?

Going back home and not having to quarantine is up there, as well. Because, I mean, I have all my friends and all my family living there. So that kind of sucks. But I'm hoping for the best and hopefully soon everything can end and we can go back to normal, the new normal.

Q. Do you have an artist you're most looking forward to seeing in concert and how you might predict that atmosphere will be in the post-COVID concert?

BIANCA ANDREESCU: Oh, boy, it's going to be super crazy. Seeing Drake in concert is always nice. I have never been to a Lil Uzi concert. I really like him as an artist. That would be really sick. Hopefully Rihanna can make some new music, and she can go on a world tour. I'd love to see her. I have never seen her either. So that would be really cool.