DUBAI (Reuters) – Mirra Andreeva became the youngest player to win a WTA 1000 title when the 17-year-old beat Clara Tauson 7-6(1) 6-1 in the Dubai Tennis Championships final on Saturday.
The precocious Russian, who beat three Grand Slam champions — Marketa Vondrousova, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina — to reach the final, will make her top-10 debut in the rankings next week.
“I’d set a goal for myself to be in top 10 by the end of the year. Now it’s the end of February and I’ve already made it, so this is something incredible for me,” Andreeva said.
“I’m just super happy with the way I was playing today. I was hella (very) nervous. I think you could see it during the match with all those double faults, some mistakes.
“So I’m just really happy that I could manage and deal with the pressure. And now it just feels amazing… This is something I dreamt of and now my dream came true so I’m just, I’m speechless right now.”
Tauson raced into an early lead on the back of a strong service game while Andreeva made two double faults to quickly find herself 2-0 down but the Russian quickly recovered and began playing her shots, breaking back to level at 2-2.
Both players soon found their range with some heavy hitting, using the full width of the court to enthral the crowd. With nothing to separate the pair, the opening set went to a tiebreak.
Andreeva has yet to lose a tiebreak this year and she was near-perfect as she won the first six points before taking the opening set when Tauson sent a return long.
Tauson took a medical timeout before the second set and she was frustrated to lose the first game, throwing her racket on the ground. Despite a couple of sublime drop shots from the Danish player, Andreeva grew in confidence to take a 4-1 lead.
Andreeva, who is coached by former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, then dictated rallies and began grinding down her opponent, firing winners with emphatic overhead smashes that left Tauson deflated as the Russian teenager went 5-1 up.
Andreeva smelled victory as she served for the title and sealed it when another Tauson return went long on her second championship point.
Andreeva also broke new ground as only the second teenager — male or female — to win the Dubai event since its inception in 1993, after Rafa Nadal in 2006.
“Lastly, I want to thank me for never quitting and always believing in myself,” a beaming Andreeva said after she lifted up the trophy.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
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