Bianca Andreescu's comeback from injury has been halted for now.
The Canadian retired due to injury in her 2nd set against 1st Seeded Ashleigh Barty. Falling during a rally when her ankle gave out Bianca remained on the floor for long enough to generate concern. She got back up and kept playing giving brief hope that it wouldn't linger before slowing down and showing signs of pain.
Though competitive at times in the match while it lasted Andreescu was never able to assert her dominance for extended periods at time, as Barty was in the beginning and end of the first set. Which was what put the Australian up 1-0. A stronger serve, more aggressive forehand and more consistent shot variety had Barty looking comfortable throughout, all of which contributed to her being able to set up and put away more winners. Barty defends her Miami Open title looking poised and dangerous at the top.
For Andreescu the big concern is the injury not the loss. A finals appearance was ahead of schedule in her comeback. In this week at Miami she started to show more consistent playing at her Grand Slam winning form. So long as she continue to play throughout the season she's shown little reason to doubt she'll remain competitive in her cracks at the top. Though her tendency to get into a lot of 3 set matches leaves concern for the wear and tear factor which may have been relevant this afternoon, after playing four 3 set matches over 5 days leading into this final.
Hopefully it's a lower grade sprain and Andreescu will get right back in the mix
-Max
