Two years ago, the Miami Open’s grandstand court was the scene of heartbreak for Andreescu, who was forced to retire in the final against Ashleigh Barty after turning an ankle. It was a major blow for the Canadian, who had barely returned from a 15-month absence caused by a torn meniscus in her left knee, an injury she suffered shortly after winning the US Open in 2019.

History repeated itself in distressing fashion at Miami Gardens on Monday night as Andreescu, a set down to Ekaterina Alexandrova but a break up early in the second, abruptly abandoned her pursuit of a wide forehand, crumpling to the court in agony as she clutched her left ankle. 

“Oh my God!” cried a tearful Andreescu, screaming and rolling in agony on the baseline as Julie Kjendlie, the Norwegian chair umpire, swiftly made her way over. 

“I’ve never felt this kind of pain before,” added Andreescu, still writhing in pain, when medical staff arrived on the scene a few moments later.

After several minutes, Andreescu was helped to her feet, embracing Alexandrova and exchanging a few words before leaving the court in a wheelchair. As she left, she cast a glance back towards her distraught family in the stands. The look in her eyes spoke of pain, sadness and utter disbelief. No wonder. Not only had she fallen in almost exactly the same spot as her mishap of two years earlier, injury had once again struck at the most inopportune of moments. 

Having seen off a pair of fellow former grand slam champions in Emma Raducanu and Sofia Kenin either side of a notable win over Maria Sakkari, the seventh seed, the effervescent 22-year-old had emerged as one of the tournament’s star attractions. Clearly revelling in her recent return to form – she made the semi-finals of the Thailand Open last month before a shoulder injury forced her to retire against Lesia Tsurenko – Andreescu had spoken this week of regaining her confidence, of feeling good, of regaining her sense of fearlessness. Now she must once again tread the weary path from renaissance to rehab. It was, as Alexandrova acknowledged, too cruel.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to say, just really sorry that it’s happened to her because seeing her on the court in so much pain is just painful to watch,” said the Russian world No 18, who will now meet Petra Kvitova, a 7-5, 7-6 winner over Varvara Gracheva, after advancing 7-6 (7-0), 0-2. 

“You cannot help, you just can do nothing, which is terrible.

“I think she’s going to be fine soon, I’m wishing her a speedy recovery. The first set was super tough and great, it probably could have been a pretty good match for both of us, but unfortunately [the injury] happened.”

Alexandrova was helped on her way by a rain delay of almost two hours, an interval that gave her the opportunity to rethink her tactics after she was forced to recover from an early break. The Russian was joined in the quarter-finals by Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, who made light of the weather delay as she saw off Barbora Krejcikova, the gifted Czech who ended her unbeaten start to the season in Dubai last month.

“I think the key today was my serve, I just put so much pressure on her and then it was kind of easier for me to play on her serve, I could play free, I could go for lines, I could hit the ball a little bit harder,” said Sabalenka, who also defeated Krejcikova in Indian Wells a fortnight ago.

The Belarusian will face Sorana Cirstea, a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 winner over Marketa Vondrousova, in the last eight. The 32-year-old Romanian, also a quarter-finalist in Indian Wells last week, has never previously faced Sabalenka.

“I know it’s going to be very tough,” said Cirstea, currently ranked 74th. “But I’ve been winning a lot of matches this American swing and I have the confidence.”

Elena Rybakina, the Wimbledon champion and No 10 seed, claimed her first straight-sets victory of the tournament against Elise Mertens, seeing off the Belgian 6-4, 6-3 to book an appointment with Italy’s Martina Trevisan, who beat Jelena Ostapenko, the former French Open champion, 6-3, 6-3.

“I didn’t start the greatest, but [I’m] happy that it was in two sets,” said Rybakina, who saved a match point against Paula Badosa in the previous round after being taken the distance by Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya in her opening match. 

“For sure, physically I’m not the freshest,” added Rybakina, who arrived in Florida hot on the heels of her title run in Indian Wells. “But I’m happy that I’m managing and finding my way.”

Jessica Pegula, the third seed, will play Anastasia Potapova for the second time in a fortnight after coming through 6-1, 7-5 against her good friend and sometime practice partner Magda Linette. The Pole, a semi-finalist at the Australian Open, rallied impressively following a poor start but was unable to convert a set point at 5-4 in the second set.

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After Raducanu’s ailing back forced her to retire from her opening-round match against Bianca Andreescu at the Italian Open as she trailed 6-2, 2-1, the British 10th seed reflected ruefully on the absence of a guiding influence in her camp. 

“Of course, I want to play every opportunity I have, and probably even when I shouldn’t,” said Raducanu, whose first full season on tour has been hampered by a catalogue of physical setbacks, the latest of which raises doubts about her participation at the French Open. 

“But, you know, I just really need to be sensible. Sometimes I feel like I need a voice to, you know, just hold my hand, [say] ‘Do this, do that.’ I hope that I can just get my back right and my body fully fit. I think that next week might be a tight turnaround, even though I wanted to play next week and get more matches on clay. My back takes priority, so we’ll see what happens.”

Raducanu split with the experienced German coach Torben Beltz last month, the third such partnership she has dissolved since last summer, and in one sense her desire for firmer counsel seems at odds with her preference for seeking a varied range of input into her game. Equally, it is only natural that the 19-year-old, who has been accompanied in Rome by Iain Bates, the head of British women’s tennis, should need an informed voice in her corner in her first full season on tour. Managing her body has become as big a priority as managing her game. 

“It sucks, because I just feel like a lot of the matches, looking back, I’m either playing with this or that,” said Raducanu, whose list of ailments this year has included a deep blister on her hand that undermined her Australian Open challenge, a hip injury that forced her to retire in Guadalajara, blistered feet and now a back problem.  “

“Every single tournament, I’m learning what my body’s capable of, what it’s not. I’m learning what works, what doesn’t. It’s just I’m doing it in front of everyone. I’s something that I’ve accepted. I think it’s definitely had its challenges. I’m just kind of going through this process, just trying to develop. I think it will take me a little bit to fully figure out what’s working.” 

If anyone in the game can relate to the unusual situation in which Raducanu finds herself, as a teenage US Open champion struggling to come to terms with the physical and mental demands of life as a touring professional, it is Andreescu. From injury setbacks and the sky-high expectations of an adoring public to adjusting to life in the glare of global stardom, the 21-year-old has seen and dealt with it all. 

Within weeks of winning at Flushing Meadows in 2019 as a 19-year-old, after a summer blighted by a shoulder problem, Andreescu suffered a torn meniscus in her left knee and did not play again for 15 months. She had barely returned before she suffered an ankle injury and contracted Covid, just as Raducanu did during the off-season, when she was forced to abandon a planned training block. Numerous parallels exist between two women who were born within a few miles of each other in Canada and share Romanian heritage, but it is Andreescu’s resilience that Raducanu would most wish to emulate.

“I think that you really have to experience it to really know what you need,” said Andreescu when asked what it takes to adjust to the rigours of the tour. “You’re playing the best players, you really have to have the right nutrition, the right game plan – like physically, mentally, emotionally, everything.  

“It’s not easy being on tour. From January to October, that’s a long time. You really have to schedule your training properly, your competition, all of that. You also have to know that injuries are a part of the game. But the best thing you can do is try to prevent. I think that’s kind of the advice I can give her.”

Andreescu, who took a break towards the end of last season during which she contemplated retirement, has shown encouraging form since returning to the sport in Stuttgart last month. It is easy to forget that, between repeated injuries and the global pandemic, she too is playing her first full clay-court season. The Canadian’s weight of shot off the ground and fine kick serve augur well for success on the surface, and results so far have been encouraging, with a narrow defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart followed by a crushing win over Danielle Collins in Madrid. Conditions at the Foro Italico are heavier than at those events, and against Raducanu her superior firepower told.

The pattern was set from the opening game, in which some errant hitting off the forehand landed Raducanu in immediate trouble. Boosted by a timely pair of aces, the Briton survived a seven-minute struggle, fending off a trio of break points. But she was soon in difficulty again, surviving a further three break points in her next service game before another missed forehand brought up a fourth. This time the pressure told, a double fault handing Andreescu an advantage she would never relinquish. 

Even in these early stages, Raducanu’s physical limitations were apparent. She struggled to generate torque on her groundstrokes, a shortcoming exposed by Andreescu’s high-bouncing topspin, and prolonged service games only compounded her discomfort. “I was serving a lot,” said Raducanu. “They were long games. When I had to keep pushing up, it was just tough.”

While Raducanu looked understandably eager to finish the points quickly, repeatedly driving the ball close to the lines, Andreescu player with greater margin and consistency, favouring bigger targets. At 5-2, Raducanu took a lengthy medical timeout. She changed tack thereafter, applying more topspin and height to her groundstrokes, but she was winning less than half her service points and, when she was broken early in the second set, it became clear her race was run. “I can’t move,” she told the trainer.

Raducanu will now rest for a few days before making a decision on Roland Garros. “I think that everything is just taking a toll,” she said. “It’s probably just my body crying out, needs a little break.”

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Indian Wells has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Pliskova, who reached the quarter-finals or better at each of the tournament’s previous four editions. Here, however, the blustery conditions wreaked havoc with the Czech’s game. Facing the Brazilian southpaw Beatriz Haddad Maia, a player she had brushed aside for the loss of just two games in their only previous meeting, Pliskova committed 42 unforced errors, crashing to a 6-3, 7-5 defeat. For Haddad Maia, who suffered a final-set whitewash against Usue Maitane Arconada of the US in the second round of qualifying, victory over the world No 3 continued a remarkable turnaround following her return from a 10-month suspension for a doping violation.  

“It was very tough today, the wind was the worst,” said Haddad Maia. “That’s tennis sometimes, we can’t control the conditions. Both of us knew that the conditions would be tough today and I knew that I had to work today with this feeling. I knew that I couldn’t feel the ball well because sometimes the wind was changing [the flight of the ball], but I’m very happy to do it.”

“I was very happy and proud to come here. Also I had two chances, because I had a very tough match in qualies and I lost in the third set 6-0, I was very upset. When I had a second chance, I think I did my best. For sure this tournament is very special for me.”

The Brazilian will face Anett Kotaveit in round four after the Estonian 18th seed defeated Andreescu, the 2019 champion, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. Kontaveit, who has won titles in Cleveland and Ostrava since entering a coaching partnership with Dmitry Tursunov, the Russian former world No 20, appears to have the Indian sign over Andreescu, having now beaten the Canadian in each of their three meetings. 

An early break set the tone, and although Andreescu battled back to see off three set points and level the set at 5-5, Kontaveit finished the opening-set tiebreak strongly. Striking her forehand with venom despite the swirling wind, the Estonian went on recover from 3-1 down in the second set, reeling off five successive games to seal the win.

“I didn’t play my best, and I didn’t feel my best,” said Andreescu, whose ranking will now drop significantly as the points drop off from her 2019 win. “I had to deal with what I had, and obviously it wasn’t enough.

“The conditions were a bit tough, as well, with the wind and the sun, but Anett, I honestly don’t think she played her best tennis either. She was the better player today.

“It was windy like the whole match, but I just felt like it kept getting worse as the match went on.”

Fortune favours the versatile in such conditions, and no one is more adaptable than Jabeur. Danielle Collins’ opponents have spent much of the summer wondering how to stop the combative Floridian, and here Mother Nature provided the answer. Eleven double faults and a meagre 28% success rate behind her second serve told the story of Collins’ unsuccessful battle against the elements, but the American’s 6-1, 6-3 defeat owed at least as much to the excellence of Jabeur, for whom it was all very much business as usual. Using the wind to her advantage, the Tunisian produced her usual array of violently spun drop shots and whirling slices, pulling the hapless Collins from pillar to post. The highlight came early, Jabeur chasing down a drop volley on her forehand side before racing back to flick an outrageous running backhand pass.

“It’s good to have good hands today,” said Jabeur, who has her sights set firmly on a place at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara. “It helped me a lot. I’m glad that I was really relaxed and trying to enjoy the slices, the dropshots that I was doing.

“It was very tricky when you don’t know where the ball is going to bounce, if it’s going to end up somewhere else, not the impact you want to hit in. I think I managed pretty well to keep the ball on the court. 

“I’m going to tell you the secret. I come from a very windy city, so it’s on the beach. The last three years of pre-season we practice in a very windy city. Maybe today it kind of helped. It could really get ugly with the wind. 

“It was kind of similar to today. I felt kind of used to it. We had a lot of practices when it was windy. 

“I think I’m used to playing in the wind. With all the tools that I have, all the shots that I have, it think it really helped me get the win.”

Jabeur, who is currently ninth in the eight-woman race to Guadalajara, will play Anna Kalinskaya, a Russian qualifier ranked 151 in the world, for a place in the last eight.

Paula Badosa, the 21st seed, saw off Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-2 to set up a last-16 appointment with French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, while Angelique Kerber continued her summer resurgence with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 victory over fellow former finalist Daria Kasatkina. Ajla Tomljanovic stands between Kerber and a place in the last eight after the Australian came through 6-4, 6-3 against Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia.

In the men’s draw, top seed Daniil Medvedev will play Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round after defeating Filip Krajinovic, the Serbian who beat him at Indian Wells as a qualifier two years ago, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1).  Cameron Norrie claimed the scalp of Roberto Bautista Agut, the Spanish 15th seed, with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win, but Dan Evans was unable to make it a British double, slipping to a 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 defeat against Diego Schwartzman.

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Logic points to a Barty victory in New York. She’s the world No 1 and newly crowned Wimbledon champion. She leads the WTA Tour for match wins this season, claiming five titles on three different surfaces. She has arguably the most complete game of any woman out there. Surely she’s a shoo-in for US Open champion? Well, not necessarily. No player has done the Wimbledon-New York double since Serena Williams in 2012. In fact, since last autumn’s French Open – a sequence that includes four slams and an Olympics – no player has even made two major semi-finals. If Barty is to buck that trend, she’ll have to progress beyond the last 16 at Flushing Meadows for the first time in her career. She did exactly that at the All England Club, of course. But her draw in New York is about as tough as they come.

What she says: “This is a tournament that thrives with the energy and I can’t wait to get started.”

2) Aryna Sabalenka

If firepower alone won grand slam titles, Sabalenka would have a hatful by now. Nobody smokes the ball harder than the big-hitting Belarusian, but there’s a reason why Barty is the world No 1. A little variety never goes amiss and, as the Aussie has shown, the ability to absorb power can be just as important as the capacity to dish it out. But even in the absence of a contingency plan, Sabalenka is heading in the right direction. Having finally progressed beyond the fourth round of a major for the first time with her run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, she is up to a career-high ranking of No 2. An elusive first slam feels closer than ever, but a tough draw – she may have to get past Tamara Zidansek, Danielle Collins, Elise Mertens and Barbora Krejcikova just to make a semi-final against defending champion Naomi Osaka – suggests it might not come in New York. 

What she says: “The goal is, as always, to win it. I think everyone has the same goal. But after Wimbledon I just understand that I don’t have to think about win it or final or be in the second week. I just have to enjoy my game.”

3) Naomi Osaka

In a necessarily selfish sport, Osaka takes a refreshingly broad view of the world. The 23-year-old pays heed to what’s going on around her, and is prepared to act. Last year in Cincinnati, she announced her withdrawal from the tournament in protest at the shooting of Jacob Blake, prompting the entire tennis treadmill to close down for the day in solidarity. At the US Open, she emerged as a powerful advocate for racial justice, using face masks to highlight police brutality and other acts of violence against black people. More recently, Osaka donated her Cincinnati prize money to relief efforts following the Haiti earthquake. For a naturally introverted character, it’s a lot to take on, and things finally came to a head at the French Open, where she revealed following her controversial withdrawal that she has suffered from depression. Only she will know how far her activism has compromised her tennis, but Osaka subsequently missed Wimbledon and has not looked quite the same since. Now might be the time for the defending champion to forget outside distractions and put herself first for once. If she does, a third US Open title in four years is well within her grasp.

What she says: “Whatever I feel, I’ll say or do it. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing.”

4) Karolina Pliskova

Consistency has been a long time coming for the 2016 finalist, but the days when the rangy Czech could just as easily fall in the first round of any given tournament as win the title seem, finally, to be behind her. Defeated by Barty at Wimbledon in the second major final of her career, she immediately looked ahead to New York, and another chance to shake off her unwanted label as the best active player without a grand slam title to her name. It all points to an improved mindset under her new coach Sascha Bajin. Back up to world No 4 after briefly slipping out of the top 10 for the first time in five years before Wimbledon, the 29-year-old beat Sabalenka for the second time in two months to reach the final in Montreal, and followed up with a run to the semi-finals in Cincinnati. Still a major champion waiting to happen.

What she says: “I’m excited to be back in the city, in New York, because last year was not really like New York. So some shopping, of course, and then back to business.”

5) Elina Svitolina

Married life clearly agrees with the Ukrainian. No sooner had she tied the knot with Gael Monfils than she battled her way to an Olympic bronze medal, the most notable prize of a career that has too often flattered amid the daily grind of the WTA Tour only to deceive at the majors. Svitolina warmed up for Flushing Meadows, where she was a semi-finalist two years ago, with a confidence-bolstering title run in Chicago. Drawn in Osaka’s quarter, she is one to watch.

What she says: “I came [to Chicago] to get some confidence, play some good matches, and in the end it happened like that. I’m looking forward to New York.”

6) Bianca Andreescu

If the champion of two years ago had the physical endurance to match her deep reservoir of talent, her progress from a section that includes Petra Kvitova, Maria Sakkari and Jelena Ostapenko could almost be taken for granted. As it is, the young Canadian may have her work cut out to avoid a fifth first-round exit in six tournaments against Wimbledon quarter-finalist Viktorija Golubic.

What she says: “I’m really trying to focus on process and long-term, because I’m also only 21. I want to be able to do what 21-year-olds do. I feel like in 2019, it was just tennis, tennis, tennis.”

7) Iga Swiatek

It’s tough to say where Swiatek is at right now. After a disappointing loss to Maria Sakkari at Roland Garros, where she was the defending champion and joint favourite for the title, the Pole bounced back to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon for the first time. She was beaten by Ons Jabeur in SW19 and fell to the Tunisian again in the opening round of Cincinnati, her only match of the North American hard-court swing. Danger lurks in a section that includes Cincinnati finalist Jil Teichmann and Cleveland champion Anett Kontaveit. A projected quarter-final showdown with Barty is by no means a given for a player who has never previously been beyond round three in New York.

What she says: “Try, fail, learn, repeat … I’m looking forward to the next challenge.”

8) Barbora Krejcikova 

A first grand slam title at the French Open, an Olympic gold medal in doubles, a debut in the world’s top 10. What a season it has been for a player ranked outside the top 100 this time last year. Demonstrated her hard-court pedigree with victory at the Prague Open and a solid run in Cincinnati, where she fell to Barty in the last eight. Seeded to mark her debut in the main draw of the singles with a last-eight showdown against Sabalenka. Expect her to keep the appointment.

What she says: “My debut is coming, the US Open is knocking on my door!”

9) Garbiñe Muguruza

A fine start to the season has drifted into mediocrity for the former French Open and Wimbledon champion. At her best, she is more than capable of winning the only major where she has yet to make the final. At her worst, she could go out in the opening round, where she faces a potentially tricky test against former quarter-finalist Donna Vekic. Assuming the Spaniard survives that test, former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka may lie in wait ahead of a possible last 16 clash with Krejcikova, her three-set conqueror in Cincinnati. Will have to put in the hard miles to reach the fourth round and equal her best previous showing.

What she says: “Well done is better than well said.”

10) Petra Kvitova

Twice a quarter-finalist at the US Open, Kvitova has endured a chequered season, losing early at all three majors. A good run in Cincinnati, where she racked up straight-sets wins against Madison Keys, Veronika Kudermetova and Jabeur before retiring from her quarter-final against Angie Kerber with a stomach issue, offers hope that better things may lie ahead. Here’s hoping the big lights inspire her.     

What she says: “These streets will make you feel brand new.”

Best of the rest

Camila Giorgi, high on confidence after winning the biggest title of her career at the Canadian Open, was the one player every seed would have hoped to avoid in the opening round. Simona Halep, who has played just two matches since returning from her summer injury layoff, drew the short straw. It could be a tough day at the office for the 12th-seeded Romanian, but if she comes through it will be a major confidence boost.

Another name no one will want to see on the draw sheet is Belinda Bencic, the 11th seed and newly crowned Olympic champion. The Swiss is expected to meet Swiatek in the last 16, although first she’ll need to get past Montreal semi-finalist Jessica Pegula. A last-eight meeting with Barty would have real blockbuster potential.

Angelique Kerber knows the course and distance at Flushing Meadows, having won the title five years ago, and looks in the mood to rekindle past glories. She reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon and in Cincinnati, falling on both occasions to Barty. Drawn in the opposite half to the Australian here, the 16th-seeded German is well capable of derailing Osaka’s title defence should the pair meet as anticipated in the last 16.

Nor should the claims of Paula Badosa and Danielle Collins be overlooked. It’s been a breakthrough season for both players, with 24th seed Badosa reaching her first major quarter-final at the French Open and Collins, seeded 26th, winning the first titles of her career in Palermo and San Jose. Collins, who could face Sabalenka in round three, has the tougher quarter of the two, but both women have the potential to emerge from their respective quarters.

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