Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva fought back to overcome world number one Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-4 6-3 in the Indian Wells final, winning a second WTA 1000-level event in a row to keep her charmed year on track.
The 17-year-old Andreeva, the youngest women’s champion at the tournament since Serena Williams in 1999, found her form midway through the match and crumpled to the ground in celebration after closing it out with a forehand winner.
Top seed Sabalenka pulled herself out of a slump to bring some of her best tennis to the California desert this year and got off to a hot start on Sunday but her form unravelled as the match wore on and she was left to rue missed opportunities.
“I would like to thank myself for fighting until the end and for always believing in me and for never quitting,” Andreeva said at the trophy ceremony.
“I was running like a rabbit today because Aryna, she’s been sending bullets and it was really hard to just keep up.”
Ninth seed Andreeva had lost to Sabalenka twice this year and it looked as though the pattern would continue as the top-seeded Belarusian mixed some nifty drop shots with her usual forehand power to save four break points in the third game.
Sabalenka sent a backhand winner down the line to break in the fourth game and four games later a visibly frustrated Andreeva whacked a ball into the stands after sending a shot into the net as the Russian was broken again.
The teenager got a confidence boost in the second set, however, when she broke Sabalenka with a forehand winner in the third game and fended off two break points in the sixth.
After trading breaks to open the third set, Sabalenka’s errors began to pile up and she fired into the net on break point in the third game to give the ninth seed the advantage.
Gracious in defeat, 2023 runner-up Sabalenka brought her trademark sense of humour to the trophy ceremony, while holding onto the petite consolation prize.
“I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this place. I’ll just put this trophy on top of another one and pretend it’s the trophy for the winning,” said Sabalenka.
“It’s going to be a quite similar size, you know?”
The win on Sunday sees Andreeva continue her meteoric rise, after she partnered with coach Conchita Martinez a year ago, as she recorded her fifth straight win over a top-10 player.
Former world number two Martinez guided Andreeva into the French Open semi-finals last year and helped steer her into the world’s top 10 with her triumph in Dubai last month.
Andreeva, who downed twice champion Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals, heaped praise on her team in her victory speech.
“I know, as I always say, it can be tough. Today was no exception… I don’t think I would be here without all of you so thank you for being by my side.”
Reuters
