Mirra Andreeva’s title defence at the BNP Paribas Open came to an angry end on Monday with the Russian crashing out in three sets.
Andreeva, who was seeded eighth in the draw, suffered a surprise 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 loss to Katerina Siniakova. During the roller-coaster match, Andreeva broke for a 3-2 lead in the deciding set before going on to lose four games in a row. It is the first time this season she has lost to a player ranked outside the top 40 after winning her past six meetings.
The 18-year-old was visibly frustrated with her latest performance in the desert, smashing her racket numerous times during the match. Then, on match point, a Siniakova shot tapped the net before landing on Andreeva’s side of the court. Prompting the youngster to throw her racket towards the net, which generated booing from the crowd. When she exited the court, Andreeva appeared to make a gesture towards the crowd.
“There were a lot of emotions that I was going through after the loss. I’m not really proud of how I managed it. I’m not really proud of how I handled it in the end.” She said afterwards.
“Those are the things that I really need to work on soon.
“I hope that I can work on it and I get better at it, as well.”
Elaborating further, the world No. 8 said her gesture wasn’t directed at anybody specifically, and she was just angry with herself.
“After the loss, I just get very angry, so I say those things sometimes to myself,” she said.
“I mean, first to myself, of course, but then, yeah, it was just anger coming out, just a lot of emotions. Not really towards anyone.”
Indian Wells is the third consecutive tournament that Andreeva has lost a match after having a break advantage in the deciding set. The other previous losses were to Amanda Anisimova in Dubai and Victoria Mboko in Doha.
“We’re just gonna talk and see what is the best way to handle this, and we’re just gonna work and try to get better.”Andreeva explained.
Andreeva is still playing in the doubles tournament alongside Mboko. The duo are through to the quarter-finals after beating Jelena Ostapenko and Hailey Baptiste 7-6(7), 3-6, 11-9.
As for Siniakova, she will next play Elina Svitolina.
