Mirra Andreva continues her ascent in the women’s game with another impressive victory.
The teenager edges closer to the WTA’s top 10 by ousting a player from that elite group at the Indian Wells Masters.
Andreeva took on Elena Rybakina for a spot in the quarter-finals and what followed was one of the most comprehensive victories of the year so far.
The pair faced one another this year in Dubai and the Russian claimed the win, and at Indian Wells she came on top once again.
Mirra Andreeva comments on the Indian Wells crowd after beating Elena Rybakina
Mirra Andreeva has reached the Indian Wells quarter-finals for the first time after beating Rybakina for the second time in as many tournaments.
Their Dubai Tennis Championships semi-final was a close three encounter, but the scoreline at Indian Wells was far more comprehensive.
Andreeva needed just 64 minutes to defeat the 2022 Wimbledon winner 6-1, 6-2 and the Stadium 2 crowd were delighted with the World number 11’s level of play.
Post-match Andreeva commented on the crowd’s support she received and could not understand why so many of them were on her side.
“I don’t know why people are supporting me this much, because honestly, when I was playing in the U.S., my results were not great,” Andreeva said.
“You know, last year here I lost in the first round. At the US Open, twice I lost in the second round. So I don’t know why people are supporting me a lot, but no, it feels great. Yeah, they stayed until the end of our match, and they were still supporting us tonight, as well.
“It’s pretty late and it’s pretty cold outside, so, you know, for me, it feels amazing because I know that sometimes when you play a late match, people, you know, they don’t really want to stay and watch the match when it’s cold and late outside.
“I don’t know why, but I have a lot of people that are supporting me, and I don’t know, something about the United States is people are so energetic.
“When I play a match and some people are supporting me, I just kind of feel their energy. It kind of lights me up a little bit, and after, it’s actually a bit easier to play, as well.”
Mirra Andreeva is youngest Indian Wells quarter-finalist since 2009
After securing a second successive win over Rybakina, Andreeva became the youngest player to reach the last eight at Indian Wells since 2009.
That year Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who was also 17, reached the quarter-finals, but she lost to compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Andreeva will have a chance to reach the semi-finals when she faces Elina Svitlona, who came from a set down to beat home favourite Jessica Pegula.
This will be the pair’s first meeting and given their performances in the tournament so so far, it is expected to be a thrilling encounter.
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