Mirra Andreeva Stuns Aryna Sabalenka To Win Indian Wells Open

Russian teen Mirra Andreeva fought back from a set down to beat World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Indian Wells final on Sunday, clinching her second WTA 1000 title in a row.

Andreeva, who won her maiden 1000 title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last month, is the youngest player to secure 12 consecutive WTA 1000 match wins since the format’s inception in 2009.

The 17-year-old had a shaky start against Sabalenka, 26, but found her form midway through the contest, which lasted two hours and four minutes.

During her on-court speech, ninth seed Andreeva praised herself for her fighting performance, referring to a quote from rapper Snoop Dogg.

“I would again like to thank myself for fighting until the end and for always believing in me and for never quitting,” she said.

“I tried to run like a rabbit today. It was really hard to just keep up, so I just tried my best and that’s why I would thank myself because I think I played a little part also.”

Mirra Andreeva Enters Record Books

Andreeva, who also defeated World No. 2 and defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals, became the youngest player in the past 40 years to beat World No. 1 and No. 2 in a WTA event.

The outright WTA Tour leader with 19 victories this season, the Russian teen phenomenon will climb to a career-high No. 6 on the WTA Rankings on Monday.

Andreeva said she tried to be a bit more aggressive in the second set, where she broke Sabalenka’s serve in the third game with a forehand winner and fended off two break points in the sixth.

In the deciding set, the Russian youngster gained advantage when Sabalenka fired into the net on break point in the third game.

“I didn’t feel relaxed. The whole match I felt super nervous,” Andreeva told reporters. “After the first set, I just realized, that, oh, well, what I do now, it doesn’t work, so I have to change something.

“In the second set, I tried to play a little bit more aggressive. I didn’t try to overhit her, because I don’t think anyone can overhit Aryna because she’s a super-powerful player.

“I tried to really, I don’t know, create something to make her uncomfortable, and, you know, point by point, game by game, I managed to do that.”

Mirra Andreeva’s Quick Rise To Fame

Sunday’s victory made Andreeva the third youngest Indian Wells champion after Martina Hingis in 1998 and Serena Williams in 1999. The right-handed youngster already has three career titles under her belt.

Asked if her career feels like a long journey already, she answered: “I would say that for me it doesn’t really feel like I have been playing for a long time. Maybe it’s happening fast, but I like it.

“There is nothing bad that I can say about it. If it’s happening fast, I take it, you know.

“It’s not bad to win two tournaments in a row, so I’m really happy about that. If it’s happening fast, I have no idea if it is, but I’m okay with it. Yes, I take it.”

Mirra Andreeva will next play at the Miami Open, which begins on Tuesday.