Iron Woman Andreescu thwarts Muguruza to reach Miami quarterfinals

Just 24 hours after winning a two-hour, 44-minute third-round thriller against Amanda Anisimova, Bianca Andreescu was back on court for her fourth-round match in Miami against Garbiñe Muguruza, and she delivered again, rallying to beat the Spanish No. 1 under the lights, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

She’ll now get a day off before playing the Spanish No. 2, Sara Sorribes Tormo, in the quarterfinals.

“It was really tough,” Andreescu said. “She started out playing really, really well. I don’t think I was at the level I wanted to be right at the start of the match, because I knew she was going to come out really, really strong, and that’s what she did. But I had to readapt, which I did in the second set.

“I regrouped. I kept fighting. I changed my game plan a little bit as well. And it worked.”

After Andreescu dominated the pair’s only previous meeting at Indian Wells in 2019, 6-0, 6-1, it looked like Muguruza was out for revenge this time—she won the first set and nearly went up a set and a break, bringing up double break point with Andreescu serving at 1-1, 15-40 in the second set.

But Andreescu dug out of that hole and ended up building a 4-1 lead—and after Muguruza cut that lead to 4-3, the Canadian went on a roll, winning the next six games in a row to take the second set and build a 4-0 lead in the third. The two traded holds for the last four games until it was over.

“It’s always satisfying getting that three-setter, especially after losing the first set,” Andreescu said. “What I was super happy about, was how even when I’m down—and I knew this about myself—even when I’m down, I know I can find a way. Most of the time, not all of the time. Most of the time I can always find a way and come back and do really, really well. I keep proving that to myself.

“It’s really nice to get that under my belt.”

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Up next for the No. 8-seeded Canadian will be surprise quarterfinalist Sorribes Tormo, who continued to defy the odds with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 win over No. 27 seed Ons Jabeur on Monday. The No. 58-ranked Spaniard had previously taken out No. 13 seed Jennifer Brady and No. 21 seed Elena Rybakina.

She’s now won 11 of her last 12 matches, having had a phenomenal two-week run in Mexico earlier this month, winning her first WTA title in Guadalajara and reaching the semifinals in Monterrey.

“I don’t know if today was the best match of my life, but I think it was one of the best matches, for sure,” Sorribes Tormo said after her win over Jabeur. “I’m playing the best tennis of my life, this is for sure. I’m playing long, I’m trying to attack more, I’m going more to the net. I feel comfortable.”

Andreescu and Sorribes Tormo will be playing each other for the first time.

“I’ve seen her play,” Andreescu said. “I know she gets to a lot of balls. She has a very heavy, spinny ball. She’s a crazy fighter. I want to go out there and fight even harder, and hopefully I can do good things.”

“We see what she did in 2019 was amazing,” the Spaniard said of the Canadian. “It will be a tough match, for sure. I’ll try to keep learning, to keep playing good tennis, and I don’t know.

“Just stay there and wait for my opportunity, if it’s possible.”