BEVERLY HILLS, April 04, (THEWILL) – Australia’s top-ranked Ash Barty successfully defended her 2019 Miami Open victory when she won her second successive championship at the Florida event by beating eighth seed Bianca Andreescu, who was injured when she fell and retired while trailing in the second set of the final.
The Canadian stumbled and went sprawling two games earlier when she turned her foot awkwardly while hitting a forehand. She was in tears and shaking her head when conceded while behind 4-0 in the second set after losing the first 6-3.
Her trainer taped her foot in the crossover to see if she could see out the match but she played only five more points before retiring rather than aggravate the condition. In her post-match comments, she echoed the sentiments around her circumstance: “Definitely not the way I wanted to end the tournament.
“But I’m super grateful nonetheless. I got to the final of one of my first tournaments in a while now, and I could not be more happy.”
It was the first time the pair were ever meeting but it signals the commencement of a potential friendly rivalry between Barty and Andreescu. The Australian told her during the trophy ceremony: “I hope you recover well and this doesn’t hinder your season too much.”
“I’m sure we’ll have many more good and hopefully healthy matches in the future.”
Andreescu has been plagued by injuries in her short career. The tournament was her first in the United States since she won the 2019 US Open as her schedule was curtailed by the pandemic.
However, before her fall, Barty dominated from the start of the final with her strong serve and all-court game, and Andreescu looked weary after playing three sets in each of her previous four matches which were all at night ahead of the final.
The tournament was cancelled last year at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. And, only five other women have won consecutive Miami titles. They include Stefanie Graf, Monica Seles, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, and the Williams sisters Venus and Serena.
By choice, this was Barty’s first competition outside Australia since February last year and she came so close to being knocked out in the opening match to
Kristina Kucova but rallied and therefore saved her title and ranking as world number one.
Only 750 fans were allowed on the grounds per session.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
