Andreescu feeling stronger

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Bianca Andreescu is feeling fit as a fiddle, her body responding nicely to the rigours of punishing elite tennis after a 10-month injury layoff.

- ROSIE DIMANNO

Well, there’s just that little twinge in her thigh that flared earlier last week during the Bad Homburg Open where the 23-year-old from Mississauga was eliminated in the first round. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to play Bad Homburg, it was a last-minute decision. I guess what happened was a blessing in disguise. I had a bit more time to rest and strengthen it a little bit.”

It was a grass tournament, part of the sod season as players transition from clay courts heading toward the emerald lawns of Wimbledon.

“I feel really comfortable on it, more and more developing a love for it, I guess,” Andreescu said of a surface that used to be her least favourite. “I love that it’s short points, it’s very quick. You have to be very, very focused right from the start.”

Her two most recent finals on the WTA circuit have actually been on grass, which requires deeper bends at the knee for a lower centre of gravity to handle lower bounces.

“I’ve been getting really low on grass. That’s kind of been the goal coming in, really strengthen the groin area and the quad area. But it’s tough to replicate in practice and what you do in the gym. If I can continue just getting matches in, I think I’ll get stronger and stronger.”