Miami Open: Bianca Andreescu and Ashleigh Barty set blockbuster final

Bianca Andreescu and Ashleigh Barty will play each other for the first time in their career in the final of the Miami Open.

Andreescu, the eighth seed from Canada ousted 23rd seed Maria Sakkari in a lengthy semi-final that spilt over to the early hours of Friday, after a late start on Thursday. After two hours and 42 minutes of strenuous, hard-hitting play, Andreescu posted a 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-6(4) win over the Greek. This heroic from Andreescu also included her coming from a break down in the final set.

In her post-match, on-court interview, after her win, Andreescu said, “Against her, I had no choice but to run for everything that I could and just fight until the end because that's what she was doing. She was really taking control of the points a lot of the times. It was really tough; I'm not going to lie. My whole game plan was to try and do that because I knew she was going to do that, and it could've been either of us winning. I'm just super happy that I pulled through.”

This is Andreescu’s first final since winning the 2019 US Open.

Miami Open: The stage's set for Bianca Andreescu vs Ashleigh Barty

Andreescu’s opponent in the final; the top-seeded Barty, defeated fifth seed Elina Svitolina in their semi-final. The Australian, who is the defending champion in Miami this week, won 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 29 minutes. In doing so, Barty also reduced the gap on the 1-5 win-to-loss record she had against the Ukrainian, going into the match.

“Yeah, I think it was. I think (with) Elina, you have to produce your best tennis. Happy with the way we were able to execute today.,” analysed Barty, post her win.

Then, speaking about (then potentially) playing Andreescu in the final, she noted, “I haven't played her before, haven't hit with her. It's a fresh one for both of us. But she's proven time and time again that she loves the big matches, loves the big tournaments, and has the game and the physicality to win them.”

Regardless of the result of the Miami Open final against Bianca Andreescu, Ashleigh Barty will end the desert swing ranked no. 1 in the world.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3fxUnYk