Elena Rybakina on Monday extended her winning streak to 11 matches as she booked her place in the Miami Open quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Belgium’s Elise Mertens, while world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka powered past Barbora Krejcikova in straight sets.
However, there was agony for Canadian former US Open winner Bianca Andreescu, who had to be wheeled off court after suffering a left ankle injury and retiring against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Rybakina is looking to complete the “Sunshine Double” after her triumph in the BNP Paribas Open, but she was far from euphoric after her victory.
“Physically I’m not the freshest, but I’m happy that I’m managing and finding my way. To be in a quarter-final is great and hopefully I’m going to play better,” she said.
She next faces Italian Martina Trevisan in the quarters. Trevisan beat former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3.
Sabalenka looked in ominous form as she blasted her way to victory over Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open winner, 6-3, 6-2.
However, Andreescu’s return to form was cut brutally short after she injured her left ankle in her match against Alexandrova.
While attempting a return, Andreescu injured the ankle, collapsing to the court as she yelled in pain.
After receiving medical attention on court she was lifted into a wheelchair and taken off court in tears.
The 22-year-old, who won the US Open in 2019, but then missed all of 2020 due to injury, returned to the circuit in April last year after a six-month break.
In Miami, she looked back to her best with wins over Emma Raducanu, Maria Sakkari and Sofia Kenin.
In women’s doubles, Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Ellen Perez of Australia beat Anna Kalinskaya of Russia and Caty McNally of the US 6-7 (7/7), 6-4, 11-9 to set up a quarter-final showdown today against Taiwanese sisters Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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