MIAMI — Bianca Andreescu gutted out four straight three-set matches to reach Saturday’s Miami Open final, including a rain-delayed semifinal that ended just after 1:30 a.m. on Friday. The 20-year-old Canadian, back on tour after a 16-month layoff, was overjoyed to be playing for a trophy again.
But she twisted her right ankle in the second set against defending champion and world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, and, on the advice of her fitness coach made the difficult decision to retire, trailing 6-3, 4-0, securing the title for Barty.
Andreescu, never one to hide her emotions, crouched down, buried her face in her hands and shed a few tears before heading to her seat to pack up her bags. It was especially tough because she was coming off an injury-plagued year following her 2019 U.S. Open title.
“It’s brutal, never the way you want to finish a match, particularly in a final,” Barty said after collecting her $300,110 first prize. “I really do feel for Bianca. I think she’s had such a rough trot with injuries in the past. I think that’s going to be the first of many battles for us.”
Andreescu, the No. 8 seed, admitted she likely would have played on but chose to follow her coach’s advice.
“I really didn’t want to stop, but Abdul (Sillah), my fitness trainer, he basically saved me from myself in a way, because I have been through that, just continuously pushing myself to the point where I’d make it worse,” Andreescu said afterwards, pausing to compose herself. “I said, 'I don’t want to (quit).' But I trusted him…I’m glad that I stopped. It’s hard for me to say that, but I’m glad that I stopped.”
Barty, known as one of the most gracious players on tour, empathized with her ailing opponent.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Barty said. “Any time you see someone kind of crippled with injury, it’s never nice. I think as athletes we all know what it feels like, and unfortunately for Bianca she knows that feeling all too well.
“I just hope this injury doesn’t hinder her season because she’s an exceptional player. She’s proved time and time again that she belongs at the very top. She belongs to play the very best in the world. And she’s always there in big events, so I think for her it’s a matter of getting healthy and I just hope that she can recover quickly.”
Even before Andreescu’s injury, Barty was in control of the match on a blustery afternoon, relying on her serve and heavy forehand.
Barty did not leave her native Australia during the pandemic in 2020, skipping Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the French Open. The Miami Open was her first overseas event in over a year, and it took her 45 hours to get here, as she had two flight cancellations. The arduous travel was worth it.
“I felt like with each match I have been playing better and better, and to be able to have the title at the end is a bonus, and to be able to defend my title the first time in my career I’ve been able to do that is really, really special too,” she said.
She became the sixth woman to win consecutive titles in Miami, joining Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Serena and Venus Williams and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.
“I feel like I haven’t earned the right to be in a list of names with those champions,” Barty said. “They are genuine legends of our sport. It’s extremely humbling to be mentioned in the same sentence as those champions, but I feel like I’ve got a long, long way to go yet before I can be in discussion with those names.”
After the match, tournament director James Blake thanked the fans, who showed up in limited numbers due to COVID-19 restrictions and cheered from behind masks in socially distanced seats. The tournament normally draws 300,000 fans over the two weeks. Through Thursday, the total attendance was 21,169.
“I know it’s not the way it normally looks, but the atmosphere you created did not go unnoticed by the players,” Blake said. “I’ve had plenty of them tell me how excited they are to play in front of fans. We hope to bring back full capacity next year.”
In men’s doubles, No. 2 seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia beat unseeded Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4 in just over an hour. They lead the tour with four titles this year and have a 25-3 record.
Skupski had partnered with his brother, Ken, to win the Mexican Open three weeks ago, but Ken was diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg and had to skip the Miami Open.
