Marta Lavandier/Associated Press

Miami Open Masters 2021 Results: No. 1 Ashleigh Barty Advances to Women's Final

Rob Goldberg

An upset-filled tournament at the Miami Open featured even more drama during Thursday's play.

After top-seeded Daniil Medvedev was eliminated from the men's draw in the quarterfinals on Day 10, No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was knocked out of the tournament in the same round on Day 11.

Women's draw No. 1 seed Ashleigh Barty also faced a tough challenge but was able to avoid suffering the same fate as No. 2 Naomi Osaka, who lost in the quarterfinals.

The same went for No. 8 seed Bianca Andreescu, who survived a three-set thriller against No. 23 Maria Sakkari.

Here is the latest from the Masters 1000 event.

     

Men's Results (Quarterfinals)

No. 26 Hubert Hurkacz def. No. 2 Stefanos Tsitsipas; 2-6, 6-3, 6-4

No. 4 Andrey Rublev def. Sebastian Korda; 7-5, 7-6 (7)

Scores and stats available at ATPWorldTour.com.

      

Women's Results (Semifinals)

No. 1 Ashleigh Barty def. No. 5 Elina Svitolina; 6-3, 6-3

No. 8 Bianca Andreescu vs. No. 23 Maria Sakkari: 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (4)

Scores and stats available at WTATennis.com.

       

Recap

What was supposed to be the best match of the day ended quicker than anticipated as Ashleigh Barty defeated Elina Svitolina in straight sets.

The top seed placed the ball all over the court to keep Svitolina off-balance while creating winners:

She also came through in key moments, saving five of her seven break points to stay ahead in each set. Adding in her great return work, Barty made it a one-sided matchup.

The defending champion has had a difficult path to the final this time around but only faced a few stumbles on the way:

It could make her tough to beat as she seeks another hardcourt title.

In the final, Barty will meet Andreescu, who won both of her sets by tiebreakers in a thrilling semifinal match.

Sakkari had set point twice in the first-set tiebreaker, but Andreescu was able to keep her at bay to claim a nerve-racking 9-7 win.

But Sakkari bounced back, winning the second set 6-3:

The 25-year-old served for the match up 6-5 in the third set, but Andreescu scored all four of the game's points to force the match-deciding tiebreaker. Once there, the Canadian scored five consecutive points to go up 6-2 before eventually winning 7-4.

Despite a valiant effort from the Greek, 2019 U.S. Open champion Andreescu persevered to set up a meeting with Barty in what will be their first-ever competitive match against each other.

In the men's draw, Hubert Hurkacz pulled off the shocker with his come-from-behind victory over No. 2 Stefanos Tsitsipas.

"It's a disappointing loss," Tsitsipas said after the match. "It's a very disappointing loss. It [leapt] out of my hands. I grabbed it. It was there. Everything was under control. And suddenly, I don't know, [there was a] self-explosion."

Tsitsipas won 70 percent of his first-serve points but couldn't get much going on his second serve, winning just 43 percent of points.

Hurkacz was much better down the stretch and ended with 15 aces in the three sets to secure one of the biggest wins of his career. After winning in Delray Beach earlier this year, the 24-year-old is now just two matches away from his second 2021 title in Florida.

Sebastian Korda also had a chance to pull off an upset Thursday, but unlike Hurkacz, he couldn't come through with the big points when it mattered.

The two were in a close battle in the first set, but it was Rublev who won the 12th game for the 7-5 victory.

Korda came from behind to force a tiebreak in the second set and saved multiple match points to keep hope alive. However, a double-fault left the opening for Rublev to close out the win:

As the highest-seeded player remaining in the field, Rublev should be the favorite to win the Masters event.

   

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