New Delhi: In one of the massive upset in women’s tennis, World No.2 Iga Swiatek went down to Mirra Andreeva of Russia 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinal of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday. This makes the teenager the youngest player to reach the last four of the tournament.
Andreeva was trailing at 1-3 in the second set before making a remarkable comeback on the court. She pocketed the five straight games in a row to leave the Poland tennis star in bewilderment. She will face the winner between Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan or Sofia Kennin of America in her semifinal encounter.
MESMERIZING MIRRA! ✨
The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva upsets World No. 2 Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 to reach her FIRST WTA 1000 semifinal!#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/BfcHDiPD8k
— wta (@WTA) February 20, 2025
The recent win of Andreeva made her the youngest player to account for five wins against top 10 players. She also knocked out Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (current World No.1) in the quarterfinals of the 2024 French Open. This now her second WTA 1000 semifinal appearance after the one at the Roland Garros last year.
“Honestly, I was really nervous before the match and we played in Cincinnati last year [which Swiatek won] and it was pretty intense,” Andreeva said.
“So I just told myself that I played great and I just need to continue to play aggressive and go for my shots,” she added.
Andreeva is the first player under the age of 18 to defeat Swiatek in a tennis match. This was a sweet revenge for the youngster after losing in the quarterfinal match to of Cincinnati Open to the five-time Grand Slam.
The recent encounter between the two players in Dubai saw several high level intensity rallies with Swiatek looking very promising in the beginning. But the youngster was very much focused and remained unfazed by the fact that she was lacking behind in both sets. The Poland star came off the blocks firing, with four outstanding backhands being instrumental for the success.
Andreeva also unleashed some powerful backhand down the line shots, her potent weapon, to bag plenty of winners. However, one forehand down the line took Swiatek by surprise in the crunch moment. This led to the Poland star move forward to rely on short forehand slices. The youngster also aced with the returns in most of the winners with the service being the key factor for the success.
It was the difference of unforced errors that backed Andreeva’s cause to seal the game. Swiatek made 33 unforced errors to that of the Russian’s 13 while the senior player bagged 22 winners to her opponent’s 18.
17-year-old Russian tennis player has stunned World No.2 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinal of the Dubai Tennis Championships. This was the first defeat for the five-time Grand Slam champion against an opponent less than 18 years of age. Tennis Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
