Mirra Andreeva, 17, claims back-to-back titles with Indian Wells victory over Aryna Sabalenka
It’s customary for tennis players to thank their fans, their coaching team and even their family after winning a title. Rarely, in true Snoop Dogg style, do they choose to thank themselves.
But teenager Mirra Andreeva has made a habit of giving herself a self-congratulatory pat on the back after recent victories, her latest coming at Indian Wells on Sunday.
The 17-year-old Andreeva defeated Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the California desert, becoming the tournament’s third-youngest female champion after Martina Hingis in 1998 and Serena Williams in 1999.
Following on from her victory in Dubai two weeks ago, she is also the youngest woman since Hingis in 1997 to win back-to-back WTA 1000 (previously Tier I) events.
Despite her youth, Andreeva is quickly making a habit of winning, and in impressive fashion. She defeated three high-ranked players at Indian Wells – No. 7 Elena Rybakina, No. 2 Iga Świątek, and then No. 1 Sabalenka – on her way to capturing a third career title.
Against Sabalenka, Andreeva came from behind having been comprehensively outplayed in the 36-minute opening set, winning fewer than half of her service points. Perhaps, then, you can excuse her for the brief and playful moment of egocentrism after the match.
“I would again like to thank myself for fighting until the end and always believing in me and for never quitting,” the Russian star said in her on-court interview, echoing her words from the victory in Dubai.
“I was running like a rabbit today because Aryna, she’s been sending bullets and it was really hard to just keep up. I just tried my best and that’s why I would thank myself because I think that I played a little part also.”
Andreeva celebrates with her second trophy in as many tournaments. Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images/Reuters
After losing the first set, Andreeva broke Sabalenka early in the second. She had to save break points to keep ahead of her Belarusian opponent, but eventually leveled the match with back-to-back aces at 5-4.
The pair traded breaks of serve at the start of the deciding set before Andreeva gained the upper hand with another break at 2-1. The finish line was now in sight, and the teenager completed the victory with a final break of serve, firing a forehand past Sabalenka and sinking to her knees.
“Many congratulations!!” five-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova wrote to her compatriot on X after the match. “So poised. So well deserved.”
With her 12th consecutive win, Andreeva became the youngest player in 40 years to defeat the two players at the top of the world rankings at a WTA event. She is also the youngest player to win 12-straight matches at WTA 1000 tournaments since the format was introduced in 2009.
Having broken into the world’s top 10 for the first time after the victory in Dubai, Andreeva will now rise to a career-high No. 6 ahead of the Miami Open.
Draper’s breakthrough title
In the men’s Indian Wells final, Great Britain‘s Jack Draper claimed the biggest title of his career with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Denmark’s Holger Rune.
The 23-year-old Draper had defeated two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal and made light work of Rune in Sunday’s showpiece, powering to the title in a little over an hour without even facing a break point.
Draper poses with the Indian Wells trophy. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
The breakthrough victory sees Draper rise from 14th to seventh in the ATP rankings and adds to the two ATP Tour titles he won in Vienna and Stuttgart last year.
“To be in this position now is beyond words, just so good,” Draper told Sky Sports after the match, adding: “I remember a couple of years ago I went through a lot of injuries and I was sort of looking at going back to the Challengers. I wasn’t ready to be a tennis player, to be a top player and put everything on the line.
“I almost thought about stopping for a while, I wasn’t quite into it. It took a lot for me to kind of grow up and think to myself that I could really be a top player … A lot of adversity, a lot of sacrifices, and I’m just trying to take it all in in the moment.”
On top of his three-set victory over Alcaraz in the semifinals, Draper also had to get past Americans Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz at Indian Wells, as well as high-flying Brazilian teenager João Fonseca.
He is only the fourth British player to win an ATP Masters 1000 title and the second to triumph at Indian Wells after Cameron Norrie four years ago.
Source: edition.cnn.com