Bianca Andreescu can be very proud of her efforts at the French Open, which marked her competitive return following nine months out injured.
The Canadian battled past Sara Sorribes Tormo and Anna Kalinskaya in rounds one and two respectively as she found her feet on the court once more.
But the 2019 US Open champion saw her tournament come to an end in a 1-6, 6-3, 0-6 defeat to Jasmine Paolini in the third round.
Andreescu did put up a fight, but it wasn’t to be, although there was no shame in losing to the Italian given that she went all the way to the final.
The former has now turned her attention to the Libema Open in the Netherlands, where she has just secured a superb win against Naomi Osaka.
Bianca Andreescu notices Naomi Osaka’s weakness on the court
The Canadian emerged victorious from the battle of former US Open champions, winning their quarter-final tie 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3).
It was also a battle between two players who haven’t exactly played a lot of tennis in the grand scheme of things, with Andreescu competing in just her second tournament of the year.
She has now explained exactly how the win came about, which involved exploiting a weakness in Osaka’s game.
“That’s expected from Naomi,” Andreescu said after the win, as quoted by the WTA. “Sometimes she’ll play unbelievable games and then sometimes not so well.
“So the key for me was to stay as consistent as possible. My return today, the goal was to just bunt it back and then take control of the second serve.”
Naomi Osaka predicted to go far at Wimbledon
Osaka can certainly be forgiven for any inconsistencies, with the two-time US Open winner only recently returning to the court after having a baby.
Her opening-round win over Elise Mertens marked her first success on grass in five years, with tennis fans delighted for the four-time Grand Slam champion.
It remains to be seen just how much momentum Osaka can take into Wimbledon, but tennis legend Kim Clijsters has already suggested that the world number 125 can go all the way next month.
World number 228 Andreescu meanwhile reached her first WTA Tour semi-final since 2023 Hua Hin with the victory in the Netherlands, and her first on grass since Bad Homburg in 2022.
The Canadian former world number four will have big ambitions for the rest of the year after recovering from the back injury that forced her off the court for almost a year.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
