By Kwame Bediako
Mirra Andreeva made history by becoming the first 17-year-old player to reach the women’s final at Indian Wells since 2001.
Andreeva achieved this feat by defeating defending champion Iga Swiatek 7-6 (7-1) 1-66-3 in the semi-finals. This was her second consecutive victory over the world number two, following her win in Dubai last month.
Andreeva’s impressive win extended her winning streak to 11 matches, and she will now face top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Sabalenka cruised past American Madison Keys 6-0 6-1 in the other semi-final, avenging her defeat to Keys at the Australian Open. Andreeva, who is the youngest woman to reach the Indian Wells final since Kim Clijsters in 2001, expressed pride in her ability to handle the pressure and nerves during the match.
“I feel that I was dealing with the nerves and the pressure pretty good, so I just feel proud of myself. 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,” Andreeva said. Andreeva’s determination and resilience paid off, as she bounced back from a one-sided second set to win the match.
Sabalenka, who will face Andreeva in the final, was motivated by her desire to avenge her defeat to Keys at the Australian Open. “That Australian Open match was really heartbreaking for me, and I really needed some time to recover after that, and if I would lose today again, it would get in my head, and I didn’t want that to happen. I was really focused, so I was just really hungry to get this win against Madison,” Sabalenka said.
The final between Andreeva and Sabalenka promises to be an exciting clash, with the 17-year-old Russian looking to continue her impressive run and the world number one seeking to assert her dominance.
