On late night in Miami, Bianca Andreescu earns latest win over Kerber

Bianca Andreescu opened Hockey Night in Canada, and roughly seven hours later, she closed a tennis night in the U.S.

The montage that opens Sportsnet's National Hockey League coverage each Saturday night saw the Montreal Canadiens walking onto the ice, and an 18-year-old Canadian walking onto the court. It saw Vancouver's Brock Boeser strike a one-timer, and the Mississauga, Ontario native strike a forehand. It saw Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs star and one of the NHL's best young players, celebrate a goal, and it saw Andreescu, now among the conversation of tennis' best young player, celebrate a point.

It was Andreescu's wild ride to the Indian Wells title as a wildcard that placed her alongside Winnipeg's Patrik Laine and Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau, two other ascendant talents that have made a mark on their sport at an early age. That ride ended with Andreescu's three-set win over three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber in the final, an early candidate for match of the year, given the stakes, drama and level of play from both competitors. And so no one, but perhaps Kerber, was disappointed to see the rematch take place less than a week later.

This time, in Miami, it was Andreescu who struck first, claiming the first set despite falling behind by a break and calling for the trainer. She then took a 4-1 lead in the second set with the assertive play that defined her play at Indian Wells, in sharp contrast to Kerber's peerless—but, at this stage, ineffective—counterpunching. Kerber wouldn't go down that easily, though. Adjusting her tactics and applying more pressure on Andreescu, she sent the rematch to a decider, a third period if you will, by reeling off the next five games.

Now nearly 1 a.m. in Miami, Andreescu stopped the bleeding with a hold to open the third set, which Kerber answered. But this match of streaks had one more left in it. From 1-1, Andreescu matched Kerber's five-game run in the second set with her own, and in a span of six days, the German had taken two losses to a player ranked outside the Top 175 as the season began. She was none too happy about it:

"She said something, but I'm not sure what," Andreescu said afterward. "I just didn't say anything, whatever, I'm not trying to focus on that. I'll just let my tennis talk."

Could Andreescu actually top her Indian Wells run in Miami? There's a long way to go, of course, starting with her fourth-round match against 21st seed Anett Kontaveit. But so far, Andresscu has overcome a 6-4, 5-1 deficit, beaten a player she'd lost to at the beginning of March in straight sets, and backed up her win over a future Hall of Famer. The hat trick in Miami gives her 10 consecutive victories, and it gives us another reason to watch Andreescu, no matter where or how late she plays.