Bianca Andreescu d. Serena Williams 6-3, 7-5

Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 women’s US Open champion, won the title and completed a North American hard court triple crown by also claiming the 2019 Indian Wells and Toronto titles.  Andreescu has great power and a competitive streak, and that bodes well for her future.  It is also clear that the future is now for Andreescu.

Leading 4-3, the 19-year-old saved a breakpoint to hold for a 5-3 lead.   She then won a deuce game to take the 1st set 6-3 with 4 holds and 2 breaks of Serena Williams’ serve giving her an early lead.  Andreescu broke Williams 4 of 6 times and held 3 of 6 times to win the second set 7-5 to close out the match.  The statistics show a close match.  Serena Williams had 33 winners and 33 unforced errors.  Andreescu struck 19 winners and committed 17 unforced errors.

Two stats stand out though:  Andreescu’s first serve percentage was 66% while Serena Williams only put in 44% of her first serves.  Secondly, Andreescu won 39% of her second serve points while Serena Williams won only 30% of her second serve points.  This demonstrates to me that Serena Williams was under pressure to put quality serves into play due to Andreescu’s strong returning.  A low first-serve percentage and losing so many points on her second serve tilted the match away from Serena Williams.

Andreescu’s return of serve was the difference in this match.  That is impressive for a player to achieve in her first major final, but to return so well against a great server like Serena Williams is outstanding.

The WTA has a bright future with many talented players emerging while established players are still producing results.