Saturday 7th September 2019....just tennis!!!!

Huge tennis weekend starting off with this amazing Canadian teenager..

It has been a remarkable year for Bianca Andreescu.

After starting 2019 ranked 178th in the world, the rising Canadian tennis star will leap into the top 10 following the biggest match of her career — a Saturday showdown against American legend Serena Williams in the U.S. Open women's final in New York.

For the 19-year-old Andreescu, the rapid journey to the elite class of the sport has featured memorable scenes around the world.

Here's a look at five standout Andreescu moments from 2019:

BIG COMEBACK IN BIG APPLE

Trailing 5-2 and down two breaks in the second set against Belinda Bencic in the U.S. Open semifinals on Thursday night, Andreescu appeared to be headed to a third and final set.

But in a stunning turnaround, Andreescu won the next five games, finishing it with a break against her Swiss opponent.

It was the second straight match in which Andreescu staged a rally. She fought back from a set down against Elise Mertens in the quarterfinals.

"Whenever my back is against the wall, I think I'm just extra focused in those moments," Andreescu said. "I remember I told myself at 5-2 that I didn't want to go to three sets. So I think just that switched my mindset."

HOMETOWN HERO

After missing the better part of four months with a shoulder injury, Andreescu made her return at home at the Rogers Cup in Toronto last month.

Andreescu won four three-set matches in a row before knocking off young American Sofia Kenin in a tight two-setter, setting up a showdown against Williams.

But just 19 minutes into the match, a tearful Williams retired with a back injury. When Andreescu realized what was happening, she went over to Williams' bench, took a knee and started consoling the American star.

Williams was touched, calling Andreescu a "great sportswoman" and an "old soul."

"I started tearing up because she was tearing up. It's because I know how she feels," Andreescu said. "Injuries really, really suck."

"I WANT THIS SO BAD"

Many consider the annual WTA Tour event in Indian Wells, Calif., the biggest tournament of the year outside the Grand Slams, so Andreescu raised many eyebrows when she captured the BNP Paribas Open in March.

Andreescu downed five seeded players en route to the title, finishing her run with a three-set win over three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber.

One of the more dramatic scenes came when coach Sylvain Bruneau came to visit Andreescu during a timeout in the third set.

The ailing Canadian teenager essentially let out a battle cry — "I want this so bad!" — during her on-court meeting with the coach. Andreescu won four of the next five games to complete a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win.

"When Bianca said that, I knew there was a door for me to try to ignite something in her because I know that she's a tremendous fighter," Bruneau said. "I knew it was important for me to try to help her to the finish line."

'DRAMA QUEEN'

Less than a week after her win over Kerber in the Indian Wells final, Andreescu and the German found themselves on opposite sides of the net again in the third round of the Miami Open.

Andreescu, who called the trainer several times to look at her shoulder, posted another three-set win and Kerber wasn't happy afterward. They had a quick handshake at the net and Kerber muttered "Biggest drama queen ever."

Kerber changed her tune the next day on Twitter, congratulating Andreescu on winning a tough battle.

Andreescu retired during her next match with a shoulder injury and played just one match in the time between Miami and the Rogers Cup.

SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS

Andreescu was anything but a household name in the final week of 2018 when she entered the qualifying rounds at the season-opening ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.

The Canadian won three matches to get into the main draw before beating former world No. 1 players Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams on back-to-back days.

It was the first time Andreescu really generated any true buzz at home, with Canadians waking up to news of the upsets because of the time difference.

Andreescu went all the way to the final before losing to No. 2 seed Julia Goerges of Germany in three sets.

It was one of just four losses Andreescu had suffered this year in WTA Tour-level events heading into the U.S. Open final.

Facing probably the worlds best ever female player...

Serena Williams says she would not have believed after her first US Open title in 1999 that she would be playing in a record 10th final 20 years later.

Williams, 37, stormed into the Flushing Meadows final with a 6-3 6-1 win over Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina.

The American will bid for a record-equalling 24th major singles title on Saturday against Bianca Andreescu.

"I would have thought it was a sick joke," Williams said of being in a final 20 years after her first.

"At 17, I thought for sure I'd be retired at 28, 29, living my life. I would definitely not have believed somebody saying that."

Williams is aiming to equal Australian Margaret Court's all-time record of Grand Slam singles titles.

The eighth seed has competed in three major finals since returning from giving birth to daughter Olympia in September 2017. She lost in the past two Wimbledon finals as well as a controversial US Open showpiece against Naomi Osaka in New York last year.

"I think it's cool that I've been in more finals than I think anyone on tour after being pregnant. That's kind of awesome," she said.

It was an epic battle!!!!!

This tells all!!!

Tomorrow is another titanic match featuring the MAN.....Rafa Nadal.....

If you have watched any of his games he does have what I find to be annoying traits...here is an interesting article!!!

Nadal is often accused of deliberately wasting time to distract and infuriate opponents – and viewers, including me. I’ve said it before, as have others: his rituals have nothing to do with upsetting his opponents’ mental equilibrium, and everything to do with balancing his own.

It has been suggested before that Nadal suffers from OCD – obsessive compulsive disorder. I think it’s a distinct possibility, though I’m not sure “suffering” is quite the right word to use. His OCD looks to be far more of a blessing than a burden, despite the loss to Kyrgios. To my mind, if anything, his obsessive compulsions serve as the perfect foil to the magic and mystery of his tennis genius.

Psychiatrists define OCD as an anxiety disorder characterised by “obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviour”. It sits on a spectrum from mild to severe; if severe and left untreated, it interferes with the sufferer’s ability to perform at work or at play.

 

If Nadal does have OCD, it clearly isn’t interfering in anything, or his spectacular journey into the stratosphere of tennis. And all the top players have their own little quirks, superstitions, rituals, or whatever you like to call them. They also get accused of time-wasting, and in a worst-case scenario, lose points for it.

A report on the internet on the” top five tennis players with the most eccentric rituals or habits” puts Nadal at number one, and American Serena Williams a close second. She uses the same shower before her matches, wears the same socks for matches, and fixates on “bouncing the ball five times on her first serve and only twice on her second ball toss”.

In Rafa’s case, it’s the sheer scale of rituals that makes them “soar above superstition” as one writer put it, and into the realm of OCD. His rituals are so many, even devoted uncle and coach, Tony Nadal, has commented publicly, telling a Spanish website on one occasion: “He has told me before he can stop doing them, and I have told him to do it.”

Nadal usually does whatever Uncle Tony tells him to do on court, but not this time round, and not because he’s  a brat. He can’t stop the rituals, because his mind compels him to do them.

Estimates of the number of Rafa’s rituals range from a list of 12 “pre-serve compulsions” to 20 on-court rituals, with little overlap. One website calls Nadal “neurotic”, gives a checklist of rituals, and quotes him saying it gives “the order I seek in my head”. Here are some of Nadal “musts”:

• Have a cold shower 45 minutes before a match;
• Wear both socks at the same height;
• Carry one racquet onto court, and five more racquets in his bag;
• Place two water bottles, one cold, one warm, in a straight line on the ground, labels facing towards the end of the court from which he is about to play;
• Sprint to the baseline after the coin spin, with a split step then a jog around the back court;
• Never walk on the sidelines – as if avoiding cracks on a pavement; and
• Bounce the ball 10 to 12 times before serving.

I have my own obsessive compulsive leanings, and find my eye drawn compulsively to all the little rituals Nadal performs on himself, in what one writer calls an “elaborate, nuanced 12-step programme”. It includes:

• Towelling his face left side first, then right side, then each arm, after every single point;
• Adjusting the left, then right, shoulder of his shirt, wiping his nose with thumb and forefinger, pushing his hair back over each ear – despite a forehead sweatband; and finally
• Adjusting the front and back of his underwear with his right hand.

Psychiatrists get irritated with people like me for trivialising what can be a serious, disabling mental illness. Orthodox treatment protocols are serious enough, and include psychotropic drugs to reduce anxiety, and treat depression that often accompanies OCD. Psychologists also use CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) to change negative thoughts, and help people with OCD think of ways to do things differently.

Nadal clearly doesn’t think there’s a need to change anything, and quite right too.

Yashi Kochi!!!