Mirra Andreeva continued her rapid rise in tennis by beating former Wimbledon Champion Elena Rybakina at Indian Wells.
The 17-year-old Russian dropped just three games during her 6-1, 6-2, thrashing of Rybakina who is eight years older than her. Andreeva is the youngest woman to reach the last eight in Indian Wells since 2009 when compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova did so. The milestone is part of her rapid success in the sport where she has already broken into the top 10, reached a Grand Slam semi-final at last year’s French Open and won two WTA titles.
Coached by Conchita Martinez, the youngster is relishing the strong support she is receiving at the WTA 1000 event. Something she wasn’t expecting.
“I don’t know why people are supporting me this much because honestly when I was playing in the U.S., my results were not great. Last year here I lost in the first round. At the US Open, I lost twice in the second round. So I don’t know why people are supporting a lot for me but it feels great,” Andreeva told reporters.
“Something about the United States is people are so energetic, and when I play a match and some people are supporting me, I just kind of feel their energy. It kind of lights me up a little bit, and after, it’s actually a bit easier to play, as well.” She added.
Andreeva will be hoping to feel the love in her next match against Elina Svitolina who coincidentally was the first player she watched play live at the 2021 US Open. The match she attended was Svitolina’s first round clash against Simona Halep.
“I never thought (at the time) if I was going to play her or not. I just remembered that I wanted to play on that stadium (Arthur Ashe). I haven’t yet, but I hope maybe this year I will.” She said.
Svitolina knocked fourth seed Jessica Pegula out of the tournament by coming back from a set down to win 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. It is the first time she has reached the last eight of a WTA 1000 event in almost four years.
Andreeva hopes to use the research conducted by coach Martinez into Svitolina for her upcoming clash. There is also the added element of the showdown being between two players whose countries are at war with each other. As a result, Svitolina will not be shaking hands at the end of their match which is something she (and other Ukrainian players) do when playing Russian or Belarussian players on the Tour.
“Of course, it’s not easy but I have played maybe, four or five matches against Ukrainian players,” Andreeva commented.
“I just try not to think about it. I just try to focus on my game, to do my routines, to prepare myself that it’s not going to be easy.
“I’m just going to try to prepare for this match as for every other match, and nothing’s going to change for me. I’m just going to do my routines and stick to what I have been doing a week before.”
