Andreescu books spot in Miami Open semifinals with win over Sorribes Tormo
Osaka's 23-match win streak halted by No. 23 seed Sakkari in quarter-final
Canada's Bianca Andreescu has reached the final four at the Miami Open.
Andreescu earned herself a spot in the tournament semifinals on Wednesday by downing Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 — in a match that went two hours 35 minutes.
"Three setters, what can you expect from me?" Andreescu said with a laugh.
"I'm a really good fighter and I never give up even through adversity. I'm super proud with how I handled it tonight because it wasn't easy. She's a really tough player."
Andreescu will face No. 23 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece in the semifinals.
Sakkari upset No. 2 seed Naomi Osaka 6-0, 6-4 on Wednesday, ending the Japanese player's 23-match win streak.
Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., quickly found herself in a 3-0 hole in the opening set after the Spaniard broke the Canadian's serve twice.
WATCH | Canada's Andreescu advances to Miami Open semis:
But she appeared to settle in and followed up by taking six of the next seven games.
With momentum on her side, Andreescu earned her third break point to take the 51-minute first set.
"I never played her before and it's hard to tell how a player plays online, so I think I got caught off guard a little bit," Andreescu said of her slow start.
"I feel like I was going for too much at the start but I figured it out and adjusted."
Neither player could take advantage of their serve in the second set. Andreescu struggled the most, never holding serve in the entire set.
She was called for a time violation while serving at 1-1, and appeared frustrated by letting the umpire know she didn't agree with the call before falling behind 2-1.
The Spaniard finally held serve on her fourth try, putting her ahead 5-3 before breaking Andreescu for the fifth time to send it to a decider.
Both players had their service game going in the third set until Andreescu used a blend of power and finesse to break her opponent for a 3-2 lead.
Andreescu then let out a roar when she fought back to hold serve and go up 4-2, and was equally as thrilled when she broke her opponent a second time to take back serve with a chance to win the match.
"She doesn't give you pace at all and those high, heavy balls, you have to generate your own and that consists of leg power, arm power ... you're putting your all into it. It was tiring towards the end of the second set," Andreescu said.
"Trying not to show it but sometimes it's hard."
Andreescu mentioned earlier in the tournament that she was having some groin issues but said post-match Wednesday: "Groin is totally fine, no pain anywhere."
BIANCA DOES IT! 💪<br><br>In what is certainly one of the most physical matches in her entire career, <a href="https://twitter.com/Bandreescu_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Bandreescu_</a> andreescu defeats Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MiamiOpen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MiamiOpen</a> semi-finals.<br><br>Amazing moment at the net. <a href="https://t.co/OSxCvdT8b6">pic.twitter.com/OSxCvdT8b6</a>
—@TennisCanadaThis is Andreescu's third tournament back after a 16-month absence in the aftermath of a knee injury. She's trying to recapture the form of her breakthrough 2019 season when she won three tournaments, including the U.S. Open.
Andreescu returned from the layoff in February at the Australian Open, losing in the second round of the Grand Slam.
The 20-year-old Canadian followed that up by reaching the semifinals of an event in Melbourne for players eliminated early from the Australian Open, but a leg injury suffered there kept her out until Miami.
Andreescu, who entered Wednesday night's match 31-1 in North America since the start of 2019, acknowledged she had a minor groin issue earlier in Miami.
Sorribes Tormo, ranked 58th in the world, already had matched her career best for wins in a season with 15 prior to facing Andreescu.
The 24-year-old won all four of her previous matches in Miami in three sets, including the last three against seeded players.
Sorribes Tormo has now faced all three of the top Canadians on the women's tour this year. She beat Eugenie Bouchard in the final of an event in Gudalajara, Mexico for her first career title and lost to eventual champion Leylah Annie Fernandez in the semifinals of an event in Acapulco, Mexico.
All four Canadian men have been eliminated in the singles draw.
In women's doubles, Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and Mexico's Giuliana Olmos face No. 8 seeds Luisa Stefani of Brazil and Hayley Carter of the U.S. in a semifinal later this week.
Sakkari ends Osaka's 23-match win streak
As Naomi Osaka's 23-match winning streak neared an end Wednesday, she paused before serving to crane her neck and study the sky, as if seeking intervention from above.
Then she carried on, and so did No. 23-seeded Maria Sakkari, who upset Osaka 6-0, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.
"The more stuff like this happens, the more I'll learn from it," the No. 2-ranked Osaka said.
The defeat was her first since February 2020, and it ended any chance of reclaiming the No. 1 ranking this week from Ash Barty, who is in the semifinals.
WATCH | Sakkari stuns Osaka in Miami:
The men's favourite departed nearly 12 hours later when No. 1-seeded Daniil Medvedev lost to No. 7 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain, 6-4, 6-2. Medvedev mangled his racket in anger after he lost serve to fall behind late in the first set, and little went right for him the rest of the way.
"If he broke a racket, it's because he lost his patience," Bautista Agut said. "I think I did some great things to put him under pressure and feel like this."
Medvedev fell to 0-3 against Bautista Agut, one of the six players left in the men's draw. None has won a Masters 1000 event.
Bautista Agut will face 19-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner, who defeated No. 32-seeded Alexander Bublik 7-6 (5), 6-4, on Friday.
WATCH | Bautista Agut stuns Medvedev:
Osaka won her fourth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in February, but in five Miami appearances she has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals. She said couldn't get comfortable on the tournament's hard-court surface.
"I felt like I haven't been playing well this whole tournament, like I couldn't find a groove," she said.
Against Sakkari, the only Greek woman ranked in the top 250, Osaka lost 15 consecutive points on her serve to fall behind and blew a 4-1 lead in the second set. She faced a break point on seven of her eight service games.
Osaka made just 41 per cent of her first serves and paid a price, because Sakkari aggressively attacked the second set. Sakkari also served well and would repeatedly extend rallies until Osaka made an error.
"I don't think it was the best tennis I played in my life," Sakkari said. "I just did what I had to do."
Osaka took a 40-0 lead in the opening game but didn't win another point on her serve until the second set. When she ended the drought, she received a big ovation from the small crowd, which she followed up with her best stretch of tennis.
But Sakkari rallied. From 40-0 down she won five consecutive points, hitting one last thunderous return to break for a 5-4 lead. She then coolly served out the victory.
With files from The Associated Press
