US Open 2019: Bianca Andreescu listened to hip-hop before beating Serena Williams to win first grand slam

Andreescu looked utterly unfazed by the occasion, and was pictured singing and swaying her head to the music in the tunnel before heading out on to court

Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu relaxed her mind with hip-hop before going out on court to beat 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams in the US Open final.

Andreescu looked utterly unfazed by the occasion, and was pictured singing and swaying her head to the music in the tunnel before heading out on to court while Williams prepared in the background.

The 19-year-old learned meditation techniques from her mother aged 12 and practices yoga to get in the zone, while she revealed this week that her US Open playlist features rappers Playboi Carti and Lil Yachty.

After striding out confidently on court, Andreescu won the first set 6-3 and took a commanding lead in the second, only for Williams to storm back into the match.

But Andreescu kept her composure to finish the job, winning the second set 7-5 to win her first grand slam and complete an astonishing rise up the world rankings this year.

“Last year wasn’t an easy period in my life, I was going through a lot with injuries,” said Andreescu. “I just kept believing in myself I kept working hard and I just kept that momentum and confidence.”

Despite having never made it past the second round of a grand slam, Andreescu arrived at Flushing Meadows with many expecting big things from herself.

“You’re never going to have ups all the time,” she said after the match. “So I think in those moments, you just have to deal with it the best that you can, which is to just keep fighting for your dreams and just stay as persistent and persevere as much as you can.

“I think it builds you as a character.”

Dropping only two sets in the entire tournament, the tenacious, power-hitting Andreescu barrelled through the competition at Flushing Meadows, showing no sign of a slowdown from a blockbuster summer that included wins at Toronto and Indian Wells.

“I don’t think I’ve lost a match since March, so my confidence is sky-rocketing right now,” Andreescu told reporters. “I just don’t want to take anything for granted because there’s going to be weeks where you’re going to lose. So right now I’m just on cloud nine.”

Bianca Andreescu reacts as she wins against Serena Williams of the during the women’s singles final of the 2019 US Open (AFP/Getty Images)

Ending 2018 with a year-end ranking of 178, she had rocketed to 15th when she arrived at the year’s final major, a meteoric rise that stunned even her coach.

“When I play my game I think nobody really likes that because I play a lot different than other players on tour,” Andreescu said. “I like to change up the rhythm and I’ve always been like that and I just kept improving it.”

Andreescu, who said she is a voracious reader of Tony Robbins and other self-help authors, acknowledged that much of her improvement had come from developing mental discipline.

“I don’t think I was ever as composed as I am now, or even a year ago,” said Andreescu. “I would get really down on myself and I would get very negative thoughts going through my mind. I would smash racquets. I’d just yell at myself during matches.”

Additional reporting by Reuters