Her name is Bianca and she is the belle of tennis in Canada.All ’round Planet Tennis too, it would be fair to say. World No. 14 on Monday. The Mississauga-born teenager has taken the sport by storm.Newly minted Rogers Cup champion, even if it did come by chance, by unexpected happenstance, amidst the wreckage of injury withdrawal by her opponent.That doesn’t take the sheen off Bianca Andreescu. It didn’t diminish the respect from that opponent either — one Serena Williams.“She’s an old soul,” said the 37-year-old tennis goddess of her 19-year-old adversary.It was Andreescu who had solaced the 23-time Grand Slam champion on Sunday afternoon at the Aviva Centre, a mere 19 minutes after their final had begun in front of an expectant sold-out audience.Incapacitating back spasms forced Williams to retire just four games into the open set, trailing 3-1.It was an inadequate and unsatisfactory dénouement as both women had been keen to take the measure of each other across a net for the first time ever.The real takeaway: Andreescu is the first Canadian woman to claim this trophy in half a century. When it was known as the Canadian Open, sans corporate branding.Read more:Andreescu captures Rogers Cup in brief but dramatic final“I’m just truly, truly blessed,” the teen said on court afterwards, shock still reverberating through a crowd that had paid a pretty penny to witness the tantalizing spectacle — The Kid taking on The Legend.“Um, I am speechless right now.” (Of course, she wasn’t.) “I’m the first Canadian who got to the finals and has won this tournament since 1969. This has been a dream come true, really.“This week has not been easy. I’ve had many, many tough matches. Especially what I’ve been through the last two months.” Rotator cuff injury and reinjury, came back too soon for the French Open and had to pull out following her opening-round w ...
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