INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Bianca Andreescu upset three-time major champion Angelique Kerber 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday, becoming at age 18 the first wild-card winner in tournament history.
The Canadian overcame nerves, arm and leg issues in the final set to earn the first title of her fledgling career.
Andreescu won on her fourth match point when Kerber netted a backhand. She broke Kerber three times in the third set, rallying from a 3-2 deficit to take four of the final five games.
Andreescu dropped her racket near the baseline and fell on her back, her legs in the air as she covered her face in disbelief. After getting up and exchanging kisses with Kerber, the teen bent down and kissed the sunbaked hard court and dropped to her back again, her arms and legs splayed, before grabbing her head.
“This moment has become a reality so it’s really, really crazy,” Andreescu told the crowd before speaking a bit of Romanian.
Born in Canada, she later moved to Romania with her parents and first started playing tennis.
Kerber was the last of five seeded players that Andreescu knocked off in her seven matches in the desert.
The Canadian followed in the footsteps of Naomi Osaka, who was a little-known 20-year-old when she won the title last year. Osaka used it as a springboard to win titles at the U.S. and Australian opens while ascending to the No. 1 ranking in January.
Kerber, ranked eighth, remains without a title since winning Wimbledon last year.
Andreescu is projected to rise 36 spots to No. 24 in the WTA Tour rankings on Monday.
Leading 2-1 in the third, Andreescu took a medical timeout and had a trainer massage her right shoulder and arm.
Kerber won the next two games, breaking Andreescu to go up 3-2.
Andreescu called for her coach, who urged her to make Kerber play every point.
She did just that.
Andreescu won the next three games, ripping off powerful forehands while winning nine straight points during one stretch.
The teen had three match points on her serve before trying one of her patented drop shots. Kerber raced to get it and sent a forehand down the line to get to deuce. The German-led 40-add on Andreescu’s forehand error before the teen made a low-percentage attempt at a drop shot. It landed in the net, leaving Kerber trailing 5-4.
Andreescu bounced back, putting away a smash to set up her fourth match point before Kerber’s backhand error ended the match.