World number 11 Mirra Andreeva beat two-time Indian Wells champion Iga Swiatek 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 6-3 after 2 hours and 17 minutes to advance to her second consecutive WTA 1000 final and her first championships match at the BNP Paribas in Indian Wells.
Andreeva achieved her second consecutive win over Swiatek in as many tournaments after claiming a 6-3 6-3 win over the world number 2 player en route to winning the WTA 1000 title in Dubai last February.
Swiatek’s title drought continues as she has not won a trophy since her triumph at Roland Garros last June.
Andreeva has extended her winning streak to eleven consecutive matches to become the youngest player to reach the Indian Wells final since Belgian Kim Cljisters in 2001.
Andreeva is aiming to become the first teenager to win the women’s singles title at Indian Wells since Bianca Andreescu in 2019.
Andreeva has become the fifth player to reach the Indian Wells before turning 18 years old since 1999. The other players to achieve this feat are Monica Seles in 1991, Martina Hingis in 1998, Serena Williams in 1999 and Kim Cljisetrs in 2001.
Andreescu will face world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who beat this year’s Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-0 6-1.
Both players held on their serve in the first eight games. Andreeva did not face a break point until she broke Swiatek’s serve from 15-30 down in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead.
Andreeva was not able to serve out the first set at 5-4, as Swiatek broke straight back to draw level to 5-4. Andreeva went down 0-30 in her next service game, but she held serve at deuce. The Russian teenager earned three mini-breaks to cruise through to a 7-1 win in the tie-break.
Swiatek broke three times in the first, fifth and seventh games to win a one-sided second set 6-1.
Andreeva earned an early break in the first game of the third set after Swiatek hit a double fault pn a game point and an unforced error on a break point.
Andreeva earned a second break in the fifth game to open up a 4-1 lead. Swiatek pulled one break back at love in the sixth game for 2-4. Andreeva served out the eighth game to open up a 5-3 lead before sealing the win with her third break in the eighth game.
Swiatek has lost five consecutive semifinals since winning Roland Garros last June. “I just felt like, I don’t know why I felt so much confidence, and I felt like I’m gonna go and play the tiebreak like it’s the last tiebreak of my life. So I just went for all my shots. My serve was great, and, you know, just felt super comfortable and super confident during the tiebreak. I kind of played on a roll”, said Andreeva.
