For Bianca Andreescu, it was all too devastatingly familiar.
Two years ago, the Miami Open’s grandstand court was the scene of heartbreak for Andreescu, who was forced to retire in the final against Ashleigh Barty after turning an ankle. It was a major blow for the Canadian, who had barely returned from a 15-month absence caused by a torn meniscus in her left knee, an injury she suffered shortly after winning the US Open in 2019.
History repeated itself in distressing fashion at Miami Gardens on Monday night as Andreescu, a set down to Ekaterina Alexandrova but a break up early in the second, abruptly abandoned her pursuit of a wide forehand, crumpling to the court in agony as she clutched her left ankle.
“Oh my God!” cried a tearful Andreescu, screaming and rolling in agony on the baseline as Julie Kjendlie, the Norwegian chair umpire, swiftly made her way over.
“I’ve never felt this kind of pain before,” added Andreescu, still writhing in pain, when medical staff arrived on the scene a few moments later.
After several minutes, Andreescu was helped to her feet, embracing Alexandrova and exchanging a few words before leaving the court in a wheelchair. As she left, she cast a glance back towards her distraught family in the stands. The look in her eyes spoke of pain, sadness and utter disbelief. No wonder. Not only had she fallen in almost exactly the same spot as her mishap of two years earlier, injury had once again struck at the most inopportune of moments.
Having seen off a pair of fellow former grand slam champions in Emma Raducanu and Sofia Kenin either side of a notable win over Maria Sakkari, the seventh seed, the effervescent 22-year-old had emerged as one of the tournament’s star attractions. Clearly revelling in her recent return to form – she made the semi-finals of the Thailand Open last month before a shoulder injury forced her to retire against Lesia Tsurenko – Andreescu had spoken this week of regaining her confidence, of feeling good, of regaining her sense of fearlessness. Now she must once again tread the weary path from renaissance to rehab. It was, as Alexandrova acknowledged, too cruel.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to say, just really sorry that it’s happened to her because seeing her on the court in so much pain is just painful to watch,” said the Russian world No 18, who will now meet Petra Kvitova, a 7-5, 7-6 winner over Varvara Gracheva, after advancing 7-6 (7-0), 0-2.
“You cannot help, you just can do nothing, which is terrible.
“I think she’s going to be fine soon, I’m wishing her a speedy recovery. The first set was super tough and great, it probably could have been a pretty good match for both of us, but unfortunately [the injury] happened.”
Alexandrova was helped on her way by a rain delay of almost two hours, an interval that gave her the opportunity to rethink her tactics after she was forced to recover from an early break. The Russian was joined in the quarter-finals by Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, who made light of the weather delay as she saw off Barbora Krejcikova, the gifted Czech who ended her unbeaten start to the season in Dubai last month.
“I think the key today was my serve, I just put so much pressure on her and then it was kind of easier for me to play on her serve, I could play free, I could go for lines, I could hit the ball a little bit harder,” said Sabalenka, who also defeated Krejcikova in Indian Wells a fortnight ago.
The Belarusian will face Sorana Cirstea, a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 winner over Marketa Vondrousova, in the last eight. The 32-year-old Romanian, also a quarter-finalist in Indian Wells last week, has never previously faced Sabalenka.
“I know it’s going to be very tough,” said Cirstea, currently ranked 74th. “But I’ve been winning a lot of matches this American swing and I have the confidence.”
Elena Rybakina, the Wimbledon champion and No 10 seed, claimed her first straight-sets victory of the tournament against Elise Mertens, seeing off the Belgian 6-4, 6-3 to book an appointment with Italy’s Martina Trevisan, who beat Jelena Ostapenko, the former French Open champion, 6-3, 6-3.
“I didn’t start the greatest, but [I’m] happy that it was in two sets,” said Rybakina, who saved a match point against Paula Badosa in the previous round after being taken the distance by Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya in her opening match.
“For sure, physically I’m not the freshest,” added Rybakina, who arrived in Florida hot on the heels of her title run in Indian Wells. “But I’m happy that I’m managing and finding my way.”
Jessica Pegula, the third seed, will play Anastasia Potapova for the second time in a fortnight after coming through 6-1, 7-5 against her good friend and sometime practice partner Magda Linette. The Pole, a semi-finalist at the Australian Open, rallied impressively following a poor start but was unable to convert a set point at 5-4 in the second set.