After having to battle from behind in both of her first two matches in the Rogers Cup, WTP's No. 26 female Bianca Andreescu's Thursday match followed a slightly different storyline.
Despite a stronger start and an early lead, she still had to head to a deciding third set for the third straight match. But as she has done so far at this tournament Andreescu was able to again take the decider and upset the Netherlands' Kiki Bertens, winning 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinal.
The 18-year-old was on fire to begin, easily winning the first set 6-1. However, Bertens would respond and put up a harder fight in the second set, as the two went back and forth and ultimately went to a tiebreak. Although the No. 1 ranked Canadian had a few opportunities to take the match in straight sets, she was unable to overcome No. 5 Bertens.
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The third set offered Andreescu yet another clean slate opportunity. Similar to her previous two matches, the score was tied entering the third set. Contrarily, in the previous matches, she won the second sets, giving her the momentum. This time, she had lost the momentum due to a back-and-forth tiebreak that ended up favoring Bertens, and Andreescu was tasked with regaining the upper hand.
She did just that.
Andreescu controlled the hard court and jumped to a commanding 4-1 lead in the deciding set, but it didn't take long for Bertens to match her speed and win three straight games to tie it up. In the end, Andreescu wouldn't let the set slip away and was able to pull ahead in the last stretch to eventually take the match.
.@Bandreescu_ fights her way into the @RogersCup quarterfinals!
— WTA (@WTA) August 8, 2019
She upsets Bertens, 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-4 👍 pic.twitter.com/shMuMPe4f7
"I guess I just like to make things difficult for myself," Andreescu told WTA in a post-match interview about playing in the third set for the third straight match. "I really don't know, but I've had many experiences this past year with playing three sets so I really know how to deal with it when it comes to that moment."
Andreescu is now 14-3 this year in 3-set matches that go the distance. Her topping of Bertens also brings her record to 6-0 against top-5 opponents.
She's just the fifth Canadian woman in Rogers Cup history to reach the quarterfinals.
"Every tournament I go to, I want to win it, so lets go all the way here"@Bandreescu_ is only the fifth 🇨🇦 to reach the @RogersCup quarterfinals, but she has her eyes set on the 🏆 pic.twitter.com/5sYsydRZ8q
— WTA (@WTA) August 8, 2019
"It means the world to me, being able to play on this stage. This is my home and in front of you guys it really means the world to me and every tournament I go into I want to win it so let's go all the way here," Andreescu said post-match, via WTA.
Andreescu will square off against Czech Karolina Pliskova, the World No. 3, in the quarterfinal on Friday.