Mirra Andreeva states what she found ‘weird’ during the second set of her match against Iga Swiatek

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Mirra Andreeva described her performance against Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells.

After their showdown in Dubai last month, the teenager and the World number two squared off again, this time on the American hard courts.

Unlike Aryna Sabalenka, who gained some revenge on Madison Keys after losing the Australian Open final, Iga Swiatek succumbed to a second successive defeat against Andreeva.

Andreeva’s 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-3 win means she is now the fifth player under 18 to reach the Indian Wells final, and she plans on going one step further.

Mirra Andreeva discusses second set performance against Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells

Mirra Andreeva performed well against Iga Swiatek in a tight first set at Indian Wells. 

Though the 17-year-old failed to close out the first set at 5-4, she dominated the tiebreak and took the lead.

But the second set was very one-sided as Swiatek claimed 6-1 to send the match into a deciding set. Andreeva recovered to win the match, but she described her second set performance as somewhat strange.

“The second set, it was a bit weird (smiling), but I can say that I really tried to do something, but I just felt like she literally overplayed me, because she was playing pretty deep with good height over the net,” she said post-match.

“It was really hard to do something with these shots. So I just tried to hang in there and do something. And after, I went on a toilet break. I started to think what can I change? And after, I just decided to kind of still play the same but maybe go for my shots more.

“I tried to play a little bit more aggressively, and in the end, you know, I got the win, so I feel great. I also feel that I was dealing with the nerves and the pressure pretty good, so I just feel proud of myself.”

Mirra Andreeva will try to emulate coach Conchita Martinez in the Indian Wells final

Andreeva now has a chance to win the Indian Wells Masters for the first time and clinch the third WTA Tour title of her career.

She faces a tough task as her opponent World number one Aryna Sabalenka has won four of their five career meetings.

But Andreeva will be motivated to win Indian Wells not for herself but also her coach Conchita Martinez, who reached the final during her playing career on two occasions, but did not win.

“I know my coach lost in the finals — I’m going to try to be better than her,” said Andreeva, who will re-enter the top 10 on Monday.

“I’m going to try to do it and we’re going to see how it will go. Of course, she has a lot of experience and I hope she’ll give me some advice.”