By Chris Oddo | Thursday March 21, 2019
Martina Navratilova is duly impressed by the breakthrough title of Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, and the 18-time major champion sees a bright future for the 18-year-old BNP Paribas Open champion.
“It was only in January, when Andreescu reached the final in Auckland, beating Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams along the way, that I heard of her for the first time,” Navratilova wrote in an opinion piece for WTATennis.com. “I watched a little bit of her then and thought she could play; I couldn't have imagined that just over two months later she would be the Indian Wells champion. Before long, Andreescu is going to be in the Top 10, and maybe in the future she and Osaka will develop the next big rivalry.”
Andreescu, who battled back from a set and 5-1 down—saving a match point in the process—to defeat Irina-Camelia Begu on Thursday in Miami, will face American Sonya Kenin in second-round action at the Miami Open. She began the season outside the Top 150 and is currently ranked at 24 in the world.
Navratilova says that Andreescu’s variety perfectly complements her world-class power, and she writes that the Canadian reminds her of Martina Hingis—but with more punch.
“Everyone knows how to bang the ball; it's when you bring something extra to the table that it makes all the difference,” she wrote. “And Andreescu brings a lot of extra to the table. Think the variety (almost) of Martina Hingis, but with more power.”
Navratilova didn’t go so far as to predict that Andreescu could match Hingis in the Grand Slam title count-yet (Hingis won five major singles titles if you're scoring at home). But she did say that the Ontario native is most likely here to stay and headed for a Top 10 ranking.
“Andreescu's rise has been meteoric,” she wrote. “It's going to be exciting watching what she does next. If she keeps playing like this and stays healthy—and she's fit and sturdy, so her body should hold up—she will be in the Top 10 sooner rather than later. She's not going to be in a flash in the pan—I'm in no doubt that Bianca Andreescu's here to stay.”