Bianca Andreescu knew this would happen because she kws all about Serena Williams. Looked up to her. Dreamed of playing her.Andreescu knew Williams would t go quietly. Knew Williams would t make things easy. And so as a big le in U.S. Open final dwindled Saturday, as she stuffed fingers in her ears to drown out decibels from delirious thousands filling Arthur Ashe Stium, Andreescu knew she needed to be just as bold, and hit just as big, as she did earlier in match — and as Williams has done for years.

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'Dream Come True'  for Bianca Andreescu

Displaying same brand of in-your-face tennis Williams seemed to invent, replete with strong serves, gutsy groundstrokes and “Come on!” cries, 19-year-old Andreescu regained upper hand and pulled out a 6-3, 7-5 victory at Flushing Meows to win her first Grand Slam title and keep Williams from collecting a record-tying 24th. 

“I’m sure I’m t only person that’s looked up to her. She’s an inspiration to many, many people, t only athletes. What she’s done off court, too. She’s truly a champion. Above all, she’s very kind-hearted. She came up to me in locker room, she said some really nice things, which I’ll cherish for a really, really long time,” Andreescu said about 37-year-old Williams.

“I’ve really strived to be like her,” Andreescu said. “Who kws? Maybe I can be even better.”

That’s quite a hey goal. Still, this was certainly a good place to start. Andreescu is first woman in Open era, which began in 1968, to win championship in New York in her tournament debut; a year ago, she couldn’t even make it into field, because she lost in first round of qualifying. She is first woman since Monica Seles in 1990 to lift trophy in only her fourth Grand Slam tournament. She is first player from Cana to win a Grand Slam singles title. This is second year in a row that Williams has lost in final at Flushing Meows. This one h ne of controversies of 2018 when she got into an extended argument with chair umpire while being beaten by Naomi Osaka.

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Serena Williams' title drought

Williams has w been runner-up at four of seven majors she has entered since returning to tour after having a baby two years ago. American remains stuck on 23 Grand Slam singles titles, one shy of Margaret Court’s mark for most in history.

“I’m t necessarily chasing a record. I’m just trying to win Grand Slams. It’s definitely frustrating, you kw,” Williams said.

She gave credit to Andreescu for playing well but also said: “I honestly didn’t play my best today. I could have played better. That’s only solace that I can take right w.”

Williams double-faulted eight times in all, including three times on breakpoint, part of her 33 unforced errors, nearly double Andreescu’s total of 17. re were or ways in which Williams was t at her best, seemingly unsure of herself, including one odd-looking check-swing on a backhand in second set that n let Andreescu put a shot away to go up 4-1. Soon, Andreescu held a match point while serving at 5-1, 40-30. Williams erased that by snapping a forehand return winner off a 105 mph serve. That launched a four-game run for Williams, who broke Andreescu again to make it 5-all.

“It was expected. She’s a champion. That’s what champions do. She’s done that many, many times throughout her career,” said Andreescu, perhaps aware that Williams has a winning record even when dropping opening set of Grand Slam matches. “But I just tried to stay as composed as I could. It’s hard to just block everything out, but I think I did a pretty good job at that.”

 Sure did. She steeled herself against Williams, against any nerves, against a loud bunch of spectators and took last two games.

“Things just start slipping away. You can feel that Serena is finding a little bit of rhythm. She’s finding herself. She’s getting more solid. crowd is roaring, just getting into it. It’s very easy to say from sideline, ‘Stay focused, blah, blah, blah.’ But this is overwhelming. re’s or word,” said Andreescu’s coach, Sylvain Bruneau. “So for her to be able to just, like, reset at 5-all when it’s w anybody’s match, that’s pretty special, I think. Very, very special. It shows a lot.”

She is 34-4 in 2019, 8-0 against top-10 opponents, and without a loss in a completed match since March 1. Andreescu missed a chunk of time in that span with a shoulder injury, which clearly is longer hindering her. Andreescu took it to Williams, figuratively and literally. Andreescu produced kind of power Williams is more accustomed to dishing out than dealing with from or side of net. One-shot went right at Williams, who leaped to avoid ball at baseline. Andreescu was fearless, always pushing, always aggressive.

 “We’re really similar,” Williams said, “in terms of we both are fighters and we both are really intense.”

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Talk about a compliment and Andreescu agreed but to a point.

 “We like to keep points short with our aggressive game style. We like to use our serve to our vant,” Andreescu said. “I think we fight really, really hard.”

“But at same time,” she said, “I want to make a name for myself.” 

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