After a hard-fought victory in the first round of the National Bank Open in Toronto, Bianca Andreescu clapped back at those who claimed she unfairly won the match through sly gamesmanship.
En route to defeating Daria Kasatkina 7-6(5), 6-4, Andreescu called a medical time out and took several long breaks during critical moments of the match. As the two clashed in the crucial first set tiebreak, the No. 53 ranked player sat down on the court, where she remained for quite some time.
Moments after securing the win, Andreescu went to shake Kasatkina’s hand, only to receive a cold response from her opponent.
Bianca Andreescu defeated Daria Kasatkina in two-sets 7-6(5), 6-4.Getty“Lots of salt in that handshake – didn’t look like Daria Kasatkina appreciated Bianca Andreescu’s long break between sets – and sitting down early in the breaker,” NBO reporter Nick McCarvel wrote on Twitter.
Other Twitter users were quick to call out Andreescu for her gamesmanship and poor sportsmanship.
Following the match, the 22-year-old asserted that her multiple breaks were not a tactical ploy to throw Kasatkina off her game
“I don’t want to be dramatic, even though…I was honestly a mess,” Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champ, said. “I am so sorry for my attitude. I really did not feel well.”
She later confirmed that the mysterious ailments she suffered from had nothing to do with her previous injury.
“It has nothing to do with my back. I felt really dizzy,” Andreescu said. “Maybe something that I ate or all the stress leading up to the tournament. I felt good today leading up to the match.
“I hit a shot and I was just like, I was seeing double almost. So that was kind of like the point where I didn’t feel the best.”
Andreescu continued to clap back at those who claimed she unfairly won the match through sly gamesmanship.GettyEven after speaking with media, Andreescu took to Instagram to once again defend her medical timeouts.
“I genuinely did not feel good,” the Canadian wrote on her Instagram story. “I definitely did not mean to cause any harm/distraction or whatever people have been calling it to my opponent or anyone in that matter…It just makes me sad to see that people really believe that.
“Us athletes go through injuries, sickness etc, the last thing I want to do is put more of that energy in the air, especially if it’s fake?”
Andreescu concluded by imploring her critics to try and take a walk in a professional athlete’s shoes, adding “I am only human.”
She will face off against Qinwen Zheng in the Round of 16 on Thursday.
