Four hot ideas about the US Open final. From Bianca's formidable power to what we feel when we see her winning for another country
ADRIAN ȚOCA
Hard reaction. When Serena came back from 1-5 to 5-5 and seriously threatened with a decisive set in which she would become a favorite, we told ourselves in the newsroom that "now let's see what Bibi is made of". Indeed, in all this glittering ascent of her, which began in the first days of the year, at […]
Simona
Hard reaction. When Serena came back from 1-5 to 5-5 and seriously threatened with a decisive set in which she would become a favorite, we told ourselves in the newsroom that "now let's see what Bibi is made of".
Indeed, in all this flashy ascension of her, which began in the first days of the year, in Auckland, I have often seen Bianca managing impressively various difficult situations. In some matches he returned to the table from difficult situations. In others, he drove and saw his advantage evaporate, but he came back and won anyway. Bianca has boldness on the field and there is nothing wrong with that; his courage is sustained by the weapons he has and uses so inspired, especially in difficult times.
But nothing she has experienced before in her career so far is not compared to the huge pressure she must have felt when she saw that advantage evaporate, when she saw Serena clearing her game, when he heard and saw the grandstand tumbling over it, maybe he realized the chance escaped between his fingers, for the moment. This is something that is not practiced anywhere, you have to be made of something special so you can manage the moment without going crazy. Bianca is really "an old soul in a young body", as the Americans have said, that is, in other words, her behavior (on the field and not only) is much before her age.
It is impressive that Bianca won a Grand Slam, but what I saw this summer from her, it is not entirely shocking. But it is really impressive that he did not lose those moments from 5-5 up. As well as the way he handled the ceremony, the joy controlled from the end, the relationship with the public, the speech. These things tell us a lot about the future of her career.
Serena takes it from the end. Serena Williams has to wait for the title 24, and now it becomes a major problem for her: her fourth consecutive Grand Slam final that she not only loses, but loses categorically. Nobody is immune to mental blockages, not even Serena. And if in the matches with Kerber, Osaka and Simona Halep she had a very good reply, against Biancai her game overall was very poor - except, however, that pride replica of the end, which was to be her bring at least set two.
After all, does it matter if he doesn't win the 24th? Not really; I am not a fan of tennis asterisks, but Margaret Court's record comes with some serious asterisks (many of them were won at AO, when the top players did not come to Antiposes). And as we have been convinced in these years, the records are not all in tennis. Serena's impact in tennis is beyond that of 23 or the eventual 24. And maybe just when she will be able to relax and forget about this increasing pressure from one tournament to another, it will be then that she will be able to do it. and win. Somehow, similar to what he did today in the second set, when he managed to forget the score, he reconciled with the outcome and started the game.
Serena remains competitive and should not be excluded from the calculations, especially for the Australian Open (which is not that far). It is true that it will be harder for her from one year to the next, it is true that three years have passed since her last Slam title. But let's not forget that, outside of the final, Serena reached her best level in this tournament, which she was finally healthy, which she didn't have much of this season. You cannot exclude any denouement in tennis. What the tennis world can do is relax with the madness of this title 24.
A big wow for the situation in Race to Shenzhen. The list of the eight players who occupy, at the end of the US Open, the places eligible for the WTA Finals is really impressive:
1. Barty, 2. Simona Halep, 3. Pliskova, 4. Bianca Andreescu, 5. Serena Williams, 6. Kvitova, 7. Osaka, 8. Bencic. The first four will most likely be beaten for the 1st place at the end of the year, not being excluded for him to play again on the last hundred meters.
As for the Tournament of Champions, if Serena qualifies and chooses not to come, as she did in Singapore a few years ago, who has to replace her? Apart from the top 8 there are other very competent players, starting with Svitolina, Bertens and Konta. A few years ago, the reproach of many was that there was no dominant player. We are all beginning to believe in the benefits of this situation. All these players listed above have gained important things lately, they can all beat anyone, all build a reputation and an increasingly beautiful business card. And this agglomeration from the top is already preparing the ground for the 2020 season and for the next great battles.
Returning to Bianca. It is, first and foremost, her performance, then her parents', two Romanians who took a huge risk and left for Canada, to give their child a chance at a better life and more opportunities. It is also the victory of Tennis Canada, the organized system that helped Bianca and made her way to a genuine, complete and fast breakthrough (this article from four years ago gives us a bit of context about Tennis Canada's work).
From thousands of kilometers away, Romanians look at Bianca's performance with pride, sincere joy, but also with mixed feelings. We all see them in the comments on Social Media, where they regret regrets or even harsher reactions, dissatisfaction that Bianca defends the colors of another country - words that betray, after all, a bad opinion. It is somewhat new to us and we may not know exactly how we should proceed.
It is clear that we all wanted Bianca to represent Romania. But that's not happening. Yes, Bianca speaks decent Romanian and appreciates the support of Romanian fans. But he is a Canadian citizen, this is a train that has left, and we have to have an uncomfortable discussion with us about how we relate and what we feel when we see a world-class champion, with the potential to dominate this sport, born of Romanians who felt that they had no chance in their country. That it's not worth the wait anymore. And, especially, what more can be done for other valuable children to be born and stay here.
There are high chances that this situation will recur soon, if not in tennis, then surely in other sports: there are millions of Romanians who have left in recent years, whose children are born in their countries of adoption. We are a country that is not at war, which is not in a crisis of resources, which has not been ravaged by any urgency of nature, but which continues to lose population by fire automatically. Of these children born elsewhere, some may choose to represent Romania - as happens in some cases from the new wave that comes to football. But most will listen to another anthem when they win important titles.
In a year when Simona Halep won Wimbledon, her second Slam title, and has a solid chance of finishing third in a row in 1st place, we now see Bianca taking on the world tennis scene. A scene that will remain for a long time to come. During this time, the heavy discussions, about the system, about the juniors and bringing children to tennis, about the conditions, about changes of mentality, about education, about how not to shout at the stadium "Hai, Bianca!" Or "Hai, Simona!", just when your favorite is served, all of this is late. Instead, very likely, we will lose, once again, in discussions of pride and wear, which we will end exhausted, possibly with some jokes. Then we will hope, that each time, the solution will come individually, from a family like Simona's parents, who will lead on their own, as she can, all the hard. Only that, at the current pace, the future of such a family could become like the Andreescu family and lead the hard, but also the victories, elsewhere.
Continue on
https://www.treizecizero.ro/news/patru-idei-la-cald-despre-finala-us-open-de-la-puterea-formidabila-a-biancai-la-ce-simtim-noi-cand-o-vedem-castigand-pentru-alta-tara Four hot ideas about the US Open final. From Bianca's formidable power to what we feel when we see her winning for another country
ADRIAN ȚOCA
Hard reaction. When Serena came back from 1-5 to 5-5 and seriously threatened with a decisive set in which she would become a favorite, we told ourselves in the newsroom that "now let's see what Bibi is made of". Indeed, in all this glittering ascent of her, which began in the first days of the year, at […]
Simona
Hard reaction. When Serena came back from 1-5 to 5-5 and seriously threatened with a decisive set in which she would become a favorite, we told ourselves in the newsroom that "now let's see what Bibi is made of".
Indeed, in all this flashy ascension of her, which began in the first days of the year, in Auckland, I have often seen Bianca managing impressively various difficult situations. In some matches he returned to the table from difficult situations. In others, he drove and saw his advantage evaporate, but he came back and won anyway. Bianca has boldness on the field and there is nothing wrong with that; his courage is sustained by the weapons he has and uses so inspired, especially in difficult times.
But nothing she has experienced before in her career so far is not compared to the huge pressure she must have felt when she saw that advantage evaporate, when she saw Serena clearing her game, when he heard and saw the grandstand tumbling over it, maybe he realized the chance escaped between his fingers, for the moment. This is something that is not practiced anywhere, you have to be made of something special so you can manage the moment without going crazy. Bianca is really "an old soul in a young body", as the Americans have said, that is, in other words, her behavior (on the field and not only) is much before her age.
It is impressive that Bianca won a Grand Slam, but what I saw this summer from her, it is not entirely shocking. But it is really impressive that he did not lose those moments from 5-5 up. As well as the way he handled the ceremony, the joy controlled from the end, the relationship with the public, the speech. These things tell us a lot about the future of her career.
Serena takes it from the end. Serena Williams has to wait for the title 24, and now it becomes a major problem for her: her fourth consecutive Grand Slam final that she not only loses, but loses categorically. Nobody is immune to mental blockages, not even Serena. And if in the matches with Kerber, Osaka and Simona Halep she had a very good reply, against Biancai her game overall was very poor - except, however, that pride replica of the end, which was to be her bring at least set two.
After all, does it matter if he doesn't win the 24th? Not really; I am not a fan of tennis asterisks, but Margaret Court's record comes with some serious asterisks (many of them were won at AO, when the top players did not come to Antiposes). And as we have been convinced in these years, the records are not all in tennis. Serena's impact in tennis is beyond that of 23 or the eventual 24. And maybe just when she will be able to relax and forget about this increasing pressure from one tournament to another, it will be then that she will be able to do it. and win. Somehow, similar to what he did today in the second set, when he managed to forget the score, he reconciled with the outcome and started the game.
Serena remains competitive and should not be excluded from the calculations, especially for the Australian Open (which is not that far). It is true that it will be harder for her from one year to the next, it is true that three years have passed since her last Slam title. But let's not forget that, outside of the final, Serena reached her best level in this tournament, which she was finally healthy, which she didn't have much of this season. You cannot exclude any denouement in tennis. What the tennis world can do is relax with the madness of this title 24.
A big wow for the situation in Race to Shenzhen. The list of the eight players who occupy, at the end of the US Open, the places eligible for the WTA Finals is really impressive:
1. Barty, 2. Simona Halep, 3. Pliskova, 4. Bianca Andreescu, 5. Serena Williams, 6. Kvitova, 7. Osaka, 8. Bencic. The first four will most likely be beaten for the 1st place at the end of the year, not being excluded for him to play again on the last hundred meters.
As for the Tournament of Champions, if Serena qualifies and chooses not to come, as she did in Singapore a few years ago, who has to replace her? Apart from the top 8 there are other very competent players, starting with Svitolina, Bertens and Konta. A few years ago, the reproach of many was that there was no dominant player. We are all beginning to believe in the benefits of this situation. All these players listed above have gained important things lately, they can all beat anyone, all build a reputation and an increasingly beautiful business card. And this agglomeration from the top is already preparing the ground for the 2020 season and for the next great battles.
Returning to Bianca. It is, first and foremost, her performance, then her parents', two Romanians who took a huge risk and left for Canada, to give their child a chance at a better life and more opportunities. It is also the victory of Tennis Canada, the organized system that helped Bianca and made her way to a genuine, complete and fast breakthrough (this article from four years ago gives us a bit of context about Tennis Canada's work).
From thousands of kilometers away, Romanians look at Bianca's performance with pride, sincere joy, but also with mixed feelings. We all see them in the comments on Social Media, where they regret regrets or even harsher reactions, dissatisfaction that Bianca defends the colors of another country - words that betray, after all, a bad opinion. It is somewhat new to us and we may not know exactly how we should proceed.
It is clear that we all wanted Bianca to represent Romania. But that's not happening. Yes, Bianca speaks decent Romanian and appreciates the support of Romanian fans. But he is a Canadian citizen, this is a train that has left, and we have to have an uncomfortable discussion with us about how we relate and what we feel when we see a world-class champion, with the potential to dominate this sport, born of Romanians who felt that they had no chance in their country. That it's not worth the wait anymore. And, especially, what more can be done for other valuable children to be born and stay here.
There are high chances that this situation will recur soon, if not in tennis, then surely in other sports: there are millions of Romanians who have left in recent years, whose children are born in their countries of adoption. We are a country that is not at war, which is not in a crisis of resources, which has not been ravaged by any urgency of nature, but which continues to lose population by fire automatically. Of these children born elsewhere, some may choose to represent Romania - as happens in some cases from the new wave that comes to football. But most will listen to another anthem when they win important titles.
In a year when Simona Halep won Wimbledon, her second Slam title, and has a solid chance of finishing third in a row in 1st place, we now see Bianca taking on the world tennis scene. A scene that will remain for a long time to come. During this time, the heavy discussions, about the system, about the juniors and bringing children to tennis, about the conditions, about changes of mentality, about education, about how not to shout at the stadium "Hai, Bianca!" Or "Hai, Simona!", just when your favorite is served, all of this is late. Instead, very likely, we will lose, once again, in discussions of pride and wear, which we will end exhausted, possibly with some jokes. Then we will hope, that each time, the solution will come individually, from a family like Simona's parents, who will lead on their own, as she can, all the hard. Only that, at the current pace, the future of such a family could become like the Andreescu family and lead the hard, but also the victories, elsewhere.
Continue on https://www.treizecizero.ro/news/patru-idei-la-cald-despre-finala-us-open-de-la-puterea-formidabila-a-biancai-la-ce-simtim-noi-cand-o-vedem-castigand-pentru-alta-tara
