"Belinda" Andreescu shakes off name slip in Miami press
The Canadian was briefly confused with Belinda Bencic at the Miami Open.
It's been a while since Bianca Andreescu was a regular fixture on tour after injuries kept her sidelined for all of 2020, but surely not long enough to forget the Canadian entirely.
That nearly proved to be the case during Andreescu's pre-Miami Open press conference, when a virtual journalist greeted her by the name Belinda.
As in, Belinda Bencic.
Bianca, Belinda. Was it a simple slip of the tongue? The 20-year-old at least took it in stride.
"Honestly, don't worry," she laughed as the journalist apologized. "There's always confusion."
To be fair, the two share more than just a similar-sounding first name. In fact, both sported the same Nike outfit during the Australian Open.
Belinda Bencic, Bianca Andreescu—in that order (Getty Images)
Through a blurry Zoom lens? I might understand the mix-up.
As for Andreescu, the former world No. 4 is coming off of a solid Australian swing, reaching the Phillip Island Trophy semifinals after taking a second-round Australian Open defeat to Hsieh Su-Wei.
Seeded No. 8 in Miami, she is projected to play an on-fire Garbiñe Muguruza in the fourth round, but will first have to get past an opening round against Tereza Martincova, with No. 28 seed Amanda Anisimova and 2018 Miami Open champion Sloane Stephens looming as possible third-round opposition.
