TENNIS NEWS - Bianca Andreescu has brushed aside several big-name players during her meteoric rise in women's tennis, but the Canadian teenager is wary for now of injuries, and not opponents, becoming the biggest obstacle in her career.
Andreescu, who has dealt with several injury setbacks in her young career, needed to overcome nerves, fatigue and arm and leg issues during her triumph over former world No 1 Angelique Kerber in Sunday's Indian Wells final.
The triumph made Andreescu, 18, the youngest Indian Wells champion since Serena Williams in 1999 and the first wildcard to take home the title from one of the biggest tennis tournaments outside of the four Grand Slams.
"I've never been in a situation like that before. Never been in a final of a premier event playing a very high-level opponent," Andreescu said on Tuesday during a conference call from Florida where she is competing in the Miami Open.
"So I think it was also all of the emotions and all of the tension that was going through my body that caused me to get even more tired than I usually would."
A struggling Andreescu called for her coach after falling behind 3-2 in the decisive third set of her win over three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber and said her "feet were burning" and that she was having trouble moving on the court.
Andreescu, who as a junior in 2016 missed six months due to stress fractures in her foot and last year missed action with back issues, said she has already taken steps to try to find ways to avoid further injuries.
