Monday at the Miami Open, former U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu left the court in a wheelchair after suffering a lower left leg injury that forced her to retire from her round of 16 match against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Clutching her ankle and wailing in pain.
After a two-hour rain delay in the first set, Andreescu fell while traveling across the baseline in the third game of the second set, clutching her ankle and wailing in pain. As medical workers arrived to treat Andreescu, the broadcast captured the 2019 Flushing Meadows winner in tears and yelling, “I’ve never felt this type of pain before.”
She was ultimately assisted to her feet and hugged Russian Alexandrova before exiting Hard Rock Stadium in a wheelchair to a standing ovation. Alexandrova progressed 7-6(0) 0-2 (ret.) and will face Petra Kvitova, who defeated Varvara Gracheva 7-5 7-6, in the following round (5).
Alexandrova stated, “I’m just extremely sorry that this happened to (Andreescu).” “Watching her in so much pain on the court is excruciating. “You cannot help, you can do nothing, which is terrible. And I believe she will be fine soon, and I wish her a speedy recovery.”
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova in just over an hour, while Elena Rybakina defeated Elise Mertens 6-4 6-3. If she wins in Miami, Rybakina, who won the Indian Wells title in California, would become only the sixth woman to win the “Sunny Double.”
‘LIKE A VACATION’ Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin 6-3 4-6 6-4 to set up a showdown with 14th-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov, who defeated Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-2 6-4.
I’m glad I started in Miami.
Tsitsipas, who was playing his first match of the Miami fortnight after receiving a bye and a walkover in the previous two rounds, had 12 aces and saved three of four break points over the course of the two-hour contest. Tsitsipas stated, “I waited a very long time to get out there and play.” “This past week in Miami almost felt like a vacation, so I am glad I got started.
“I’m not going to lie, it was challenging out there against an opponent who has previously played well against top players.” The match remained on serve until Tsitsipas broke for a 5-3 lead in the opening set, after which he won the first set without facing a single break point.
Tsitsipas was pushed early in the second set as he fell down 0-40 and needed to win five consecutive games to hold serve and even the score at 1-1. However, he was unable to duplicate this feat at 4-5, as Garin broke to love to force a third set. The Greek blew two break point opportunities in the opening game of the third set, but earned the break he needed at 4-4 when Garin double-faulted at 40-30 in a game the Chilean lost before Tsitsipas served out the match.
Francisco Cerundolo defeated fifth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2 7-5, while Adrian Mannarino defeated eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(5) 7-6(0) and Frances Tiafoe fell to Lorenzo Sonego 6-3 6-4. In other women’s matches, third-seeded Jessica Pegula defeated Poland’s Magda Linette 6-1 7-5, breaking four times in the first set’s 28 minutes and then erasing a 5-2 double-break deficit to avoid a third set.
Pegula, who lives approximately 30 minutes from the tournament site and was a semifinalist in Miami last year, has not lost a set in her first three rounds and will next play Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, a 6-4 7-6(4) victor over China’s Zheng Qinwen. Italian 25th seed Martina Trevisan defeated Latvian 24th seed and former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of her maiden WTA 1000 event.