FINAL: Serena V Andreescu

[Grossefavourite]

Tough, tough match for Serena. Bianca will have all of Canada behind her tomorrow and she's playing very very well and knows how to win even when injured.

I recall Vee losing in 3 sets to Bianca.

[Grossefavourite]

Those of you who wrote Serena off after the first set as the loser today, kindly come forward and confess. It will not be held against you, at least not for long.

[Grossefavourite]

Eighth seed Serena Williams will take on home favorite Bianca Andreescu in Sunday’s Rogers Cup final after rallying to defeat qualifier Marie Bouzkova, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in Toronto on Saturday. Williams is bidding to win her first title since becoming a mom, having last tasted victory at the 2017 Australian Open.

“I’ve kind of become a fan with everyone rooting and cheering so hard. It’s contagious, the Bianca effect,” Williams told the crowd afterwards. “I’ve always wanted to play her, so I look forward to it.”

Williams tried to work Bouzkova around the court, but the Czech was relentless in chasing down shots, sending replies with plenty of depth to reset the point and trip up the three-time champion. Eighteen of the 27 points Bouzkova won in the first set came as a result of unforced errors off the American’s racquet. To her credit, the 21-year-old protected her serve well, hitting spots when she needed to under pressure to deny Williams any break point opportunities.

Looking to modify her game plan, Williams began pulling the trigger earlier and brought out her drop shot, reaching 3-3 as the crowd willed her on. With a shift in pressure, Williams stepped in on a short second serve to break Bouzkova for the first time and won four successive games to force a decider.

Before beginning the third set, Williams said in her chair, “it’s so windy.” She bailed herself out of trouble by erasing three break points in a tense third game, one that proved to be a pivotal turning point. Bouzkova had a chance to hold for 2-2 in the ensuing game, but Williams kept plugging away with free-swinging on return to get the first, and only, break of the set. She went on to close out the hard-fought victory by hitting two aces in the final games.

“I just had to play better. She was playing really well. She had a really good game plan and was moving great. I had to just make some adjustments, mostly mentally and staying positive,” laughed Williams in her on-court interview.

Williams, last month's Wimbledon runner-up to Simona Halep, will take on Andreescu for the first time. In March, Andreescu captured her first WTA title with a memorable run to the Indian Wells trophy. The 19-year-old eliminated Sofia Kenin in Saturday's first semifinal with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory.

[Grossefavourite]

Boozekova was all smiles at the end.

[djmm1962]

Yeah, but she was crying while walking off court

She has a bright tennis future!!

[djmm1962]

This will be Serena's first day match, and I'm sure the conditions will be different!!

I hope it doesn't throw her off!!

[Ace2Ace]

This will be Serena's first day match, and I'm sure the conditions will be different!!

I hope it doesn't throw her off!!

You've been MIA in the LIVE Chat ...

[Ace2Ace]

[Grossefavourite]

TORONTO FINAL PREVIEW: SERENA GETS TEST SHE CRAVES IN BIANCA ANDREESCU
Seeking her fourth Rogers Cup title, Williams will take on the 19-year-old Canadian for the first time on Sunday.

By Steve Tignor

Serena Williams said she wanted to test herself in finals; Bianca Andreescu, and the Toronto crowd, should give her that test. On what should be a fascinating Sunday showdown.

Serena and Bianca: They’re both first-name-only type personalities, aren’t they? There’s no one in the sport quite like either of them. But they also have a few things in common: Emotion, expressiveness, will, intensity, a sense of theater, and a command of the stage—they bring it all to their matches. Is there room on one 78 x 27-foot rectangle for both of them? We’ll find out on Sunday when the American and the Canadian meet for the first time in the Rogers Cup final in Andreescu’s hometown of Toronto.

While Williams, 37, and Andreescu, 19, share a common will to win, they obviously don’t share the same history, or credentials. By the time Andreescu was born, Serena had already won a Grand Slam title. She has won 22 more since, while Andreescu’s main claim to fame so far is her unlikely run to the Indian Wells title in March.

Their roads to the final this week have also been slightly different. Serena, as she has all season, has been up and down. On Friday, she played one of her cleanest and best matches of the year in beating Naomi Osaka; 24 hours later, she could barely keep a ball in the court for the first seven games against Marie Bouzkova. Andreescu, for her part, has been uncannily consistent. She has won three matches 6-4 in the third set, another 7-5 in the third set, and another 7-5 in a second-set tiebreaker. Andreescu hasn’t played perfectly by any stretch, but that has only served to illustrate one of her strengths: Her ability to put a mistake, or a lot of mistakes, behind her and win anyway. Having the Toronto crowd behind her hasn’t hurt, either.

What does all of that mean for the final? The first question that needs to be answered is: Which Serena will we see? And if we see the one who was so unsettled against Bouzkova, will she be able to settle down in time against a better opponent like Andreescu? As Serena herself said after Wimbledon, she has struggled with the particular pressure that comes with playing finals. Andreescu, and the crowd, are unlikely to make life easy for her in this one. The teenager is already adept at disruption, at mixing spins and speeds and trajectories—i.e., not giving Serena the steady pace that she loves. Serena said she wanted to play more non-Slams finals, so she could test herself before getting to a Slam final. This should be a test.

As for Andreescu, how will her own game match up against Serena’s? How will she handle her serve and power, and will she have time to utilize all of her variety? The Canadian is a strong athlete in her own right, but she has played a lot of tennis in her first week back after a two-month layoff. Just as important, how will she react to facing Serena for the first time? Andreescu, who is 6-0 against Top 10 players, is usually the bigger personality on court, but that won’t be the case against Serena. The teenager has gotten under the skin of some of her opponents, most famously Angelique Kerber, who called her “the biggest drama queen ever.” Will Andreescu tone down that drama against Serena, and if she doesn’t, will it make Serena even more determined to beat her?

The fact that there are so many questions to ask about this matchup is a sign of how intriguing it is. Finding out the answers could make for one of the most fascinating afternoons of the year.

Winner: S. Williams

[Ace2Ace]

what's wrong with Serena? This sucks. All those people paid top $$$$ and get this?
Boozkova would have given Bianca a run for her money.