World number one Ashleigh Barty retained her Miami Open title yesterday as Bianca Andreescu’s injury curse struck again.
Australia’s Barty completed a 6-3, 4-0 victory after Andreescu was forced to retire in tears with an injury to her right ankle in the second set at the Hard Rock Stadium. Barty had dominated the Canadian world number nine throughout the contest behind a powerful service game and accurate forehand.
The end came soon after the third game of the second set, when Andreescu collapsed to the court after rolling her right ankle during her service game.
Barty broke for a 3-0 lead as Andreescu, clearly struggling to move properly battled on. Despite being heavily strapped on her ankle, Andreescu retired soon afterwards, unable to continue.
It was a bitterly disappointing end for Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion who missed the first few months of the 2020 season with a knee injury before last year’s pandemic shutdown.
Barty, meanwhile, was left to reflect on a clinical victory in what was her first overseas appearance since the WTA Tour resumed after the shutdown. The 24-year-old from Queensland controlled the game from the outset, moving Andreescu around the court relentlessly with accurate first serves and heavy groundstrokes.
After opening with a convincing hold of serve, Barty broke Andreescu in the second game, taking a 2-0 lead with a bludgeoning forehand that gave the Canadian no chance.
Another hold of serve put Barty 3-0 up, and although Andreescu took advantage of an erratic service game from the Australian to break back and close the deficit to 3-2, it was only a temporary reprieve.
Barty broke back immediately to go 4-2 ahead and then held easily for a 5-2 lead. Andreescu held for 5-3 but was unable to find a way through Barty’s serve as the world number one took the first set in the next game. Andreescu was soon under pressure in the second set, suffering an early break to go 2-0 down.
She then appeared to roll an ankle while serving in the third game and crumpled to the court. She managed to continue but Barty broke again for 3-0 lead and the end followed soon afterwards when the youngster retired.
Barty becomes the sixth woman to defend the Miami Open crown, following in the legendary footsteps of Stefanie Graf (1987-88, 1994-96), Monica Seles (1990-91), Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario (1992-93), Venus Williams (1998-99), and Serena Williams (2002-04, 2007-08, 2013-15). Each of these six players has held the World No.1 ranking.
In the men’s section, Italian teen Jannik Sinner rallied past Spanish seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut on Friday to book a meeting with Hubert Hurkacz in the biggest final of his young career.
Sinner, who reached last year’s French Open quarter-finals, defeated Bautista 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to become only the fourth teen to reach the men’s final in the 36-year history of the ATP Miami Masters.
Poland’s Hurkacz, seeded 26th, won his second straight match over a top 10 player, beating Russian fourth seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4.
Coming off a quarter-final win over second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hurkacz became the first player to take a set off Rublev at the tournament. It’s the first time he has earned two top 10 wins in the same tournament. 
Sinner, 19 and playing only his third Masters 1000, joined 1990 champion Andre Agassi, 2005 runner-up Rafael Nadal and 2007 winner Novak Djokovic as Miami teen finalists.
“Today we both showed great Tennis,” Sinner said. “It was not easy. It was a little bit windy as well. I’m very happy about my performance today.”
Sinner took his eighth career triumph over a top-20 rival and ensured he will rise into the ATP’s top 25 next week, although he nearly smashed a racquet in a tense second set.
“Sometimes you get the frustration going but just trying to stay calm, which is how I am normally,” Sinner said. “Sometimes you have to scream or do something else, but don’t break racquet. Please let me don’t break racquet.”
Sinner seeks his third career ATP title after last year at Sofia and February in an Australian Open tuneup at Melbourne.
As excited as he was at reaching the final, he kept a long-term perspective about what it meant for his career.
“This kind of stuff can help you a lot. It’s good to be in finals here but it doesn’t mean anything,” Sinner said. “The road is very long and I want to improve day after day and we’ll see what’s coming.” Bautista, who ousted Russian top seed Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, missed out on his second career ATP Masters 1000 final after 2016 at Shanghai, where he lost to Britain’s Andy Murray.


No fans at Serbia Open this year, says Djokovic’s brother
Fans will not be allowed to attend the April 19-25 Serbia Open as the tournament will be held in line with measures to control the Covid-19 pandemic, organiser Djordje Djokovic said yesterday.
The Adria Tour charity event, organised last year by world number one Novak Djokovic, Djorde’s brother, in Serbia and Croatia, was attended by up to 4,000 fans and ended in fiasco as he and several other players contracted the coronavirus.
With no social distancing in place among fans, many of whom did not wear masks, Novak Djokovic was widely criticised after video footage emerged of him and other players partying in Belgrade’s night clubs.
“Unfortunately, there will be no fans this year as we’re in a difficult situation with a lot of people contracting the virus on a daily basis,” the ATP 250 event’s organiser Djordje Djokovic told Serbia’s Nova S television.