The world No 1 Ashleigh Barty defended her Miami Open title in less than ideal circumstances after Bianca Andreescu was forced to retire from their final following an ankle sprain in the second set as Barty led 6-3, 4-0.
Barty had opened the match with a faultless display of attacking tennis for an hour, dominating with her serve and forehand as she moved to a 6-3, 2-0 lead. However, as Andreescu attempted to hold off a double break in the set, she tumbled on her right ankle while chasing a ball and then retired shortly after.
“It’s brutal,” said Barty. “It’s never the way you want to finish a tennis match. I just feel for Bianca. She’s had a lot of injuries in her very young career and it’s held her back in some of the biggest moments. I hope for me it’s the first of many battles for us but you never like to see her injured at all.”
The match-up itself was almost more significant than the result as two of the brightest young stars faced each other for the first time. Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion, tore her meniscus in the final tournament of the 2019 season and disappeared for 15 months. Barty, who won Roland Garros that year and took the No 1 ranking, opted out of competing during the early stages of the pandemic. Both players returned to competition during the Australian swing in February and this week they finally rediscovered their form in Miami.
Both Barty and Andreescu are blessed with a vast, deep toolbox of shots that they use both to disrupt and smother opponents. But while Andreescu thrives on chaos, rarely ever playing the same shot twice, Barty’s game is more structured and logical behind her serve and forehand.
It was Barty’s tactical clarity that triumph as she immediately stamped her authority on the match, flitting to an early 3-0 lead and never looking back. Barty has returned from her hiatus with more pace on her first serve and her ability to constantly create free points and short forehands contrasted deeply with Andreescu, whose ineffective serve forced her to work hard for every point. Barty finished with 81% first serve points won, dropping serve just once.
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The triumph marks an appropriate return to the biggest stages of the sport for her. After recovering from a match point down in her opening round against Kristina Kucova, Barty finished the week with three consecutive top 10 wins against Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina, and Andreescu in addition to a win over Victoria Azarenka. Her title defence means she maintains a vast lead over Naomi Osaka at the No 1 spot and she is unlikely to be caught before Roland Garros.
“On a personal note, it’s incredible,” said Barty. “The first time I defended a title which is really, really exciting. I have so many good memories here in Miami and I’m just so excited that I could kickstart what’s gonna be a really long season away from home for us in the best possible fashion.”
