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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Bianca Andreescu has followed the path that brought her back to the tennis tour after a mental health break, thanks to defeating her seeded opponent at the Australian Open on Monday. about a year ago during a spiritual retreat on a beach in Costa Rica, she calls it an “aha moment.”
The 22-year-old Canadian explained the epiphany in an interview with The Associated Press at Melbourne Park.
Andreescu, who beat Serena Williams in the 2019 US Open final as a teenager, experienced a series of health problems, including contracting COVID-19, that derailed her career in 2020 and will likely be in 2021. delayed her. She also stepped away from her longtime coach. After beating No. 25 seed Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-4 on Court 3 on Monday, Andreescu described the period as “busy,” but she hasn’t done anything in six months. bottom. From October 2021 she will play until April 2022, including her absence from last year’s Australian Open.
“That’s when I started asking myself: Is this worth it? Is this life worth it? The way I see myself,” Andreescu said. Because I stopped feeling
She realized she needed to reassess where she was and where she was going.
“Do I keep pushing and pushing and hoping for the best? Or do I take a step back? That’s what I did. I took a break. I did other things besides tennis. I do a lot of charity.” Activities: I traveled to a few places, met friends I hadn’t seen in a few years, started playing soccer again, skated, started martial arts, I danced And so much more,” Andreescu said with a big smile.
While in Costa Rica last February, Andreescu found a new way of thinking.
“2022 feels a lot better than 2021 when I was disappointed after losing,” she said. “Right now I just want to get back on the court. I feel very motivated.”
It certainly seemed that way against last year’s U.S. Open quarterfinalist Bouzkova.
Andreescu mixed up the shot and overwhelmed his opponent when he chose a big cut on his groundstroke.
“I couldn’t breathe, I didn’t have the momentum,” Bouzkova said.
Andreescu said he felt a mix of tension and relief at the end of Monday as he really wanted to win.
She did just that and now faces Cristina Buxa of Spain, who is ranked 100th in the world.
“I like to say what my mother always says to me: ‘Follow your heart’. That’s what I did.” I am intuitive and feel like many others. So trust your intuition,” Andreescu said, pointing her interlocking fingers to her heart. — If possible, take a step back.”
A big step for Chinese men
Teenage qualifier Shang Juncheng became the first Chinese man to win a main-draw match at the professional Australian Open, beating Germany’s Oscar Otte 6-2 6-4 6-7 ( 2) We beat them 7-5.
“I think it’s huge for Chinese men’s tennis,” said the 17-year-old Shan, who has 34 winners. “We’ve had some really good players on the women’s side, but there’s not a lot of famous players on the men’s side,” he said.
Mr Shan added: “I hope we can do something big in the future.”
Shan, the 2021 US Open junior runner-up, joins the 17-year-old for the first time since world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz won the Australian Open two years ago. became.
“It’s a huge achievement,” Shan said. “If you look up at Carlos, he’s the best player in the world right now. Just watching him play on the court really inspires me and inspires young players.”
China has three men in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
Wu Yibing lost his first-round match against France’s Corentin Moutet on Monday. Zhang Zhizhen will play his American counterpart, Brian Shelton, on Tuesday.
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Jessica Pegula geared up for a first-round victory at the Australian Open after watching the Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins 34-31 in the opening NFL playoff game on TV.
No. 3 seed Pegula, whose parents own the Bills and the NHL’s Sabers, said he woke up at 7 a.m. Monday in Melbourne and 3 p.m. Sunday in New York. Jacqueline Christian 6-0, 6-1 at Margaret Court Arena.
“It was a tough game. I think it’s definitely an ugly win,” Pegula said of the Bills.
“It’s like the first match, the playoffs, everyone is nervous, very nervous,” she added, likening it to the anxiety before the first match at a Grand Slam tournament.
“Obviously it was fun for them to get that win before I was on the court. I don’t think it had much of an effect on me, but I would have been upset that they lost.” said Pegula.
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Associated Press freelancer Simon Cambers contributed to this report.
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Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HowardFendrich.
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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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