Andreescu Sets Women’s Final Against Barty

By Daniel Perissé

Bianca Andreescu will try to stop Ashleigh Barty from defending her title at the Miami Open presented by Itaú after edging Greece’s Maria Sakkari in the second Women’s Singles semifinal 7-6(7), 3-6,7-6(4).

In the first set, Andreescu broke Sakkari in the fourth game, leading 3-1. But the Greek leveled the score and forced a tie-breaker. In the end, the Canadian was more aggressive and won 9-7.

In the second set, the World No. 9 was up a break and led 3-1, but the Greek took advantage of her many unforced errors to come back and level the match. She ended with ten winners.

Sakkari had three break points in the first game of the third set but lost all of them and the Canadian took the lead. The same happened in the fifth game, but now it worked out for the Greek, up 3-2 with a break. She served and got a 4-2 lead.

This will be the first meeting between Barty and Andreescu. When asked about the clash against the World No. 1, the Canadian showed a lot of excitement.

“It’s everything. Her being No. 1 and her doing really, really well. Her game style as well. It’s something I have never really experienced, you know. I love a challenge, and I know she’s going to challenge me, so it’s a mixture of everything.”

The Miami Open Women’s Singles final is scheduled for Saturday, April 3rd, at Hard Rock Stadium.