Tennis News: Canadian tennis player, Bianca Andreescu has advanced to the Miami Open Round of 16 for the third time in her career with a straight-set victory.
The 2019 US Open champion successfully defeated 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-4 in the third round of the 2023 Miami Open season.
It was the fifth meeting between the two tennis players, but it was their first meeting since becoming Grand Slam champions. Their last meeting was in Toronto in the 2019 season which was won by the Canadian tennis player who is now superior in their head to head with 4-1.
The Canadian had already reached the fourth round of the Miami Open in 2019, shortly after winning the title in Indian Wells. Two seasons later, he qualified for the tournament final, but was forced to withdraw from both matches due to injury. In 2019 he retired with a shoulder injury against Anett Kontaveit and in 2021 an ankle injury forced him out of his fight against Ashleigh Barty.
“The last time I played here in 2021, I didn’t enjoy it,” admits Andreescu. “I didn’t think I deserved to be in this final. But this season I feel like a completely different person and I really feel like I deserve to be here right now.”
The match was dominated by serves without many long rallies. Of the 110 runs played, 87 of them ended in five hits and only three required more than ten hits.
For a set and a half, the Canadian remained almost intact on her serve. She built a 6-4, 4-1 lead after dropping just nine points on serve. Home tennis player Kenin was also able to hold serve but the Canadian found a deft return to break the hosts at 2-1 in the first set and 4-1 in the second.
Kenin showed tenacity winning several games to make it 3-4 in the second set. But it was a lackluster effort to turn things around and Andreescu eventually sealed the win by converting his first match point chance when the hosts’ forehand return nestled in the net.
“He hit the ball really flat and when he warmed up he was amazing,” added Andreescu. “I think he serves very well. I also served well. But my serving at crucial moments and some of my returns were the factors that helped me throughout this game.
The Miami Open fourth round match against Ekaterina Alexandrova is Andreescu’s next task.
18th seed Alexandrova managed to beat ninth seed Belinda Bencic 7-6, 6-3 in 1 hour 55 minutes.
The two players’ head-to-head is now tied at 3-3, a rivalry that began in the 2019 season. Alexandrova will make her debut in the fourth round of the Miami Open and will face Andreescu for the first time.
Article Tags: Tennis, Miami Open, Bianca Andreescu, Sofia Kenin, Ekaterina Alexandrova
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