Andreeva to battle Sabalenka for Indian wells title

Rising Russian tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva has become the first 17-year-old to reach the women’s final at Indian Wells since 2001, following a stunning victory over defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals.  

Andreeva, currently on an 11-match winning streak, displayed remarkable composure to defeat world number two Swiatek 7-6 (7-1), 1-6, 6-3.

This marks her second consecutive win over the Polish star, having also eliminated her in the Dubai quarter-finals in February before going on to become the youngest-ever WTA 1000 champion.

In the final, Andreeva will face world number two and top seed Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian powered past Madison Keys in dominant fashion, securing a 6-0, 6-1 victory and avenging her Australian Open loss to the American.

“I feel that I was dealing with the nerves and the pressure pretty good, so I just feel proud of myself,” said ninth seed Andreeva on her recovery in the final set.

“After she literally killed me in the second set, I was just ‘well, OK, might just try to fight’. There is not much I could do about it. She was playing amazing.

“And I just kind of decided to grind and fight for every point. It doesn’t matter how I put the ball in. But I have to put it in. So I just try to do everything and in the end, it was not too bad.”

Andreeva is the youngest woman to reach the Indian Wells final since Kim Clijsters, who lost to Serena Williams in 2001.