Bianca Andreescu gives Nike a dressing down at US Open before issuing apology over ‘unwanted’ tussle with Serena Williams
Bianca Andreescu, who is ranked no. 3 in the world after winning Wimbledon and the US Open, has apologised after tussling with Serena Williams during her second round match.
Andreescu, who recently split with husband Adrian Mannarino, was not in the same team as Williams, who was beaten by the world number one 6-2,6-4 at Roland Garros, with the American complaining of the referee decision to stop play before Williams had served.
During the incident Andreescu was spotted by a cameraman, who was not accredited by the USTA, and several minutes of footage showed the American arguing with Andreescu’s coach, assistant and the chair umpire about the decision to halt play.
She also said she had no choice but to call her sister’s husband ‘a complete pig’ after he appeared on the TV show where he gave criticism of the controversial referee decision.
Meanwhile, Williams, who had not played since February, admitted defeat to her nemesis in the second round in a match that lasted an hour and was overshadowed by several controversial incidents.
Williams, who suffered her first loss against a top 10 opponent since she turned professional in 2000, was hit by a sharp backhand return from Andreescu on her way to a break in the second set and said her opponent had’stuck out’ at every point.
She said: ‘To be honest, I don’t remember any of it. I just remember my foot going down and she just got that serve back and I said something, I don’t remember what. I just remember getting up.’
When asked if she could have won the match, had she been able to play through the pain in her hands in the second set, the American said: ‘No, I believe it, if I had won the match, I probably would have been crying. Because I lost that match, I’m pretty sure of that. Whether you win or lose, when you lose, you’re going to cry.
‘I’m not crying, but now I have one loss and I am so happy for it