Canada's standing in world tennis took another giant leap forward today thanks to an 18-year-old from Mississauga.
Bianca Andreescu took down the legendary Venus Williams; her second major upset in two days.
Her wins are being closely watched by other young Canadian tennis players.
With a shot out of bounds by her opponent Venus Williams, Andreescu managed her second upset in as many days, beating Williams 6-7, 6-1, 6-3 in a quarterfinal on Friday at the ASB Classic in New Zealand.
“I believe anything is possible,” said Andreescu, after her win, “and tonight I did the impossible. I don't even know what to say. It’s such an amazing feeling.”
Andreescu, who is ranked 152 in the world, beat the top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki on Thursday and less than 24 hours later went on to knock off seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, a match closely watched by 18-year-old Anika Tylek in Ottawa.
“For her to make wins like that at such a young age, that's impressive,” says Tylek, who is the same age as Andreescu and grew up playing tennis with her.
“So I remember her always developing and she was always talented, so it’s really incredible what she's doing right now.”
Here at the Ottawa Athletic Club, tennis director Tony Roth is honing the skills of young players as Canada's reputation on the court grows.
“Canada has gone from being a minor nation in tennis,” says Roth, “Sure, we've always had a few players who were good, to now being a legitimate force in the tennis world.”
Being at this level is an enormous time commitment, at least 4 hours a day and weekend competitions as well. But that's how stars are born. And perhaps there is another star among them.
“It would be nice if that could be me,” says 16-year-old Corina Spasojevic, who ranked top 10 in U-16.
“I still think anyone of us could make it that far,” says Spasojevic, “It depends who, just like Bianca.”
Andreescu will now face the third-seeded Hsieh Su-Wei from Taipei in the semifinal on Saturday.
