Mirra Andreeva booked a place in her third career WTA 1000 quarter final on Wednesday in bullish style.
The 17-year-old defeated Poland’s Magda Linette, 6-1, 6-3 as she confirmed revenge after her Olympic defeat in Paris.
In contrast to her previous matches where she was forced to come from behind, the teenager was dominant from the offset.
In just an hour and 13 minutes, Mirra Andreeva leapt around the net, and with a final bruising forehand winner, advanced emphatically.
Mirra Andreeva predicts a different atmosphere in her quarter-final
The Russian star has taken just about everything in her stride this year, reaching her maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Roland Garros.
Her win moves her into the WTA top 20 for the first time and Andreeva has now matched Maria Sharapova’s record during her Beijing campaign.
Facing China’s hometown hero however, Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, will be a far different affair.
Andreeva, who’s largely had the crowd on her side this week said to the WTA: “When I’ve played here, all of my matches, I felt like they were rooting for me … probably, everyone will be cheering for her [faces Zheng next round].
I’ve had those situations before already, especially in France [at Roland Garros against Varvara Gracheva] so that was hard, but I know how to deal with it. I know how to play with it, I know what to do if something goes wrong.
“I will just talk to my coach about tactics, and we’ll see, maybe some of the people will be cheering for me. Maybe one of two, I will be hoping for it!”
A maiden clash between the two young sensations, Zheng will be fired up to take control early and bounce off that home crowd energy.
The sky’s the limit for Mirra Andreeva
Having picked up Olympic silver in the doubles with another breakout star, Diana Shnaider, the 17-year-old is starting to make light work of breaking WTA records.
In July, Andreeva captured her first WTA title at the Iasi Open, becoming the fourth-youngest winner in the women’s circuit since 2006.
Getting the beating of Aryna Sabalenka at the French Open was a magnificent achievement, especially with the Belarusian having only lost three matches since.
If all goes to plan for Andreeva, she may be confronted by the powerful US Open champion once again for a spot in the final.
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