By Canadian Press

Bianca Andreescu’s win streak ends after early exit because of injury

Mar 25, 2019 | 2:59 PM

MIAMI — The injury bug has derailed Bianca Andreescu’s impressive run.

The rising Canadian tennis star’s win streak was snapped at 10 matches after a 6-1, 2-0 loss to No. 21 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in a fourth-round contest on Monday at the Miami Open. The 18-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., retired from the match with a right shoulder injury.

Playing her WTA Tour-high 35th match of the season, Andreescu showed signs of fatigue as she suffered her first straight-sets loss of the campaign. She is now 31-4 this season, getting her ranking up to No. 24 after starting 2019 at No. 152.

When Andreescu called for a visit from coach Sylvain Bruneau after falling behind 4-1, the BNP Paribas Open champion was breathing heavily and did almost none of the talking during the timeout.

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Andreescu called for the trainer to look at her shoulder after the first set, something she did several times during a three-set win over three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber on Saturday night.

After losing the first two games of the second set to Kontaveit, Andreescu decided to end it.

The injury was the latest bit of drama in an eventful stretch for Andreescu.

After losing to Andreescu in the third round, Kerber called the Canadian the “biggest drama queen ever” before a quick handshake.

The German, who also lost to Andreescu in the BNP Paribas Open final last weekend in Indian Wells, Calif., took to Twitter Sunday to congratulate the teen for the second victory after taking some criticism for her actions on social media.

Andreescu had won four of her previous five matches in three sets prior to the encounter with Kontaveit.

Before her breakthrough start to the 2019 campaign, Andreescu had battled several injuries in recent years.

If she is fatigued, it would come as no surprise. Kontaveit, with a similar ranking to Andreescu, has played 17 matches this season, less than half of the Canadian’s total.

Andreescu had said before this tournament that she feels she needs “a good two or three weeks off to get out of my tournament mode and focus on my body, my training and my mind.”

It’s possible that Andreescu could now sit out until Canada’s Fed Cup play resumes April 20-21 on clay in the Czech Republic.

On the men’s side, No. 20 seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., was scheduled to face Russian qualifier Andrey Rublev later Monday in a third-round match.

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal will face No. 17 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia in a fourth-round match on Tuesday.

Shapovalov also remains alive in doubles with partner Rohan Bopanna of India, having reached the quarterfinals.

In women’s doubles, the fifth-seeded team of Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and China’s Yifan Xu also has reached the quarterfinals.

The Canadian Press