Indian Wells (United States) (AFP) – Mirra Andreeva rallied from a set down to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka for the Indian Wells WTA 1000 title on Sunday, continuing a meteoric rise backed by the coaching counsel of Conchita Martinez. “Maybe it’s happening fast, but I like it,” Andreeva said after ensuring she will climb to a career-high sixth in the world on Monday. “If it’s happening fast, I take it.”
Andreeva says she tries not to gauge herself against the teen prodigies of the past, but the comparisons are calling. Having already become the youngest ever winner of a WTA 1000 title in Dubai last month, she added another elite title to her resume and, at 17 years and 321 days old, became the third-youngest woman to hoist the Indian Wells trophy after Martina Hingis (17 years, 166 days) and Serena Williams (17 years, 169 days). Not only did she top the world number one 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, she beat world number two and defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semis, becoming the first player under 18 to beat the top two at the same WTA tournament since Williams beat Lindsay Davenport and Hingis at the 1999 US Open.
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She credits a protective and experienced team, which includes Spain’s 1994 Wimbledon champion Martinez—who teamed up with the youngster not long after her early exit from Indian Wells last year. “Since the beginning of our work relationship, I already felt like we had a great connection,” the 17-year-old Andreeva said this week. “I felt very comfortable around her. I feel like we’re both very energetic, and I feel like we both know how to be energetic, but when we need to also calm down and take things seriously.”
Andreeva said she needed Martinez’s steadying influence on Sunday, when she was a bundle of nerves as she prepared to take on Sabalenka—the top-ranked Belarusian who had won four of their previous five encounters, including two this year. “I would actually say that I was a brat, and there were a lot of nerves as well,” Andreeva said of her Sunday morning self. “When I’m nervous, I kind of tend to close my personality a little bit, so I don’t let anybody in. I don’t really talk much. I think Conchita tried to kind of create a nice and relaxed atmosphere around us today, but in the morning it was a bit tough for me because I was nervous. In the end, she did good with it.”
Andreeva wasn’t taking much time to savor her victory, with a chance to add a third 1000 title to her resume before her 18th birthday arrives in April. “I think that we’re going to celebrate in the airport or on the plane, because tomorrow morning we’re going to fly to Miami,” said Andreeva, who is seeded 11th for the Miami Open that starts on Tuesday.
© 2024 AFP
