'The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory' - Andreescu riding high at Miami Open

MIAMI, FL, USA - BNP Paribas Open champion Bianca Andreescu wasn't too rattled by the storms that suspended her first round Miami Open match against Irina-Camelia Begu on Wednesday. After all, she had an Amy Schumer stand-up special that wasn't going to watch itself.

GALLERY: Great Escapes - Andreescu joins 2019's winners from match point down

"I really love stand-up comedy," the Canadian youngster said after saving a match point to beat Begu upon Thursday's resumption. "I watched Amy Schumer's special last night. It was really good. I always enjoy watching her. She's really funny."

Andreescu had plenty to smile about after extending her winning streak to eight in a row, keeping her hopes of a possible Sunshine Double - something only Stefanie Graf, Kim Clijsters, and Victoria Azarenka have ever done - alive.

"Winning Indian Wells was incredible, but, I mean, if I win back to back, that would be even more incredible," she deduced.

"If I keep making history, then I just keep accomplishing my goals, because that's one thing that I have always wanted to do. So if I have my name alongside those amazing players, it would definitely mean a lot."

It was a bit of déjà vu for the 18-year-old, who began her Indian Weels campaign against Begu, rallying from a set down to defeat the Romanian en route to her first WTA title in the California desert.

Call it experience earned, but Andreescu, who next plays Sofya Kenin - the last woman to beat her back at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel - has held firm through what has often looked like exposure therapy throughout a month full of firsts.

"The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory. I have gained a lot of experience from today, but hopefully I don't have to actually be down match point to win matches!"

Still, the teenager wouldn't trade these moments for where she was 52 weeks ago, battling through ITF Pro Circuit tournaments "in the middle of nowhere" in Japan. She was just inside the Top 200 at the time, and now Andreescu is in pole position to achieve her all of her dreams for 2019.

"My goal was to get into the main draw of the French Open, which I have accomplished already, and to always improve as a player and as a person with every match I play, and to crack into the top 50 by the end of the year."

Intangible as the second goal seems, it's hard to argue Andreescu hasn't already made massive improvements, even before making her big splash at the BNP Paribas Open.

"I was always changing the rhythm," she explained of her game style. "I found that it was really working for me, so ever since then I was just improving it during practice, and it's definitely showing that a lot of players are having trouble with receiving all the junk, I guess I should call it, junk..." 

She pauses before unleashing a pun.

"...Junk in my trunk! But effective junk."

It's not the sort of ease you'd expect from someone who made it to primetime just over 72 hours ago. Indeed, success has yet to change Andreescu, who found another stand-up special to watch during her Thursday afternoon ice bath.  

"It still hasn't really soaked in, but now I'm getting more attention with the media, and a lot more people are asking for my autograph, watching my practices, watching my matches. So that's definitely changed. I guess it's slowly starting to sink in."