Tennis fans were treated to a very competitive duel in the first round of the Miami tournament, a confrontation between two former United States Open champions: Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu. The Canadian was stronger and won in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 on Wednesday.
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After missing that event last year, Andreescu returned to Florida with quite a challenge in her first game. Raducanu, despite being ranked 72nd in the WTA, is a former top 10 player.
The Ontarian took advantage of her opponent’s physical impediments and broke the Brit’s serve in the sixth game of the third set. She then saved her fourth break point of the set before stealing Raducanu’s serve again to run to victory.
This was the story of that meeting for Andreescu. The 22-year-old, 31st in the table, fought tooth and nail for every point. On serve in game eight of set number two, she made 10 draws and saved six break points before faltering on Raducanu’s seventh try. It was only broken once in 12 cases.
“You never know what to expect. I came here to play the best I could, which I think I did admirably. I have a lot of respect for Emma, who is a wonderful athlete and today’s result shows that,” the winner commented on her success in the middle of the court.
“I didn’t let emotions get the best of me and stayed positive. I had a lot of energy and never gave up. Those were the keys here,” she continued.
It was a second collision between the two rising stars. In Rome 2022, Andreescu won after her rival was eliminated in the second round.
Another fight coming?
An even greater challenge awaits the Canadian in the second round. The opponent is the Greek Maria Sakkari (7th), who received a pass. The two women shared the honor in their two career bouts, each ending in straight sets. In the 2021 semifinals in Miami, Andreescu also had the upper hand with 7: 6 (7), 3: 6 and 7: 6 (4).
“It’s going to be a really interesting match and I’m very excited. We had tough fights and hope we can give you an excellent show,” the Ontarian summed up in front of the crowd.