Teenager Mirra Andreeva stunned second seed Iga Swiatek to become the youngest woman to reach the semi-finals of the Dubai Championships on Thursday, attributing victory to working on her “anger inside”.
The 17-year-old Russian came from a break down in the second set to win 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 36 minutes and continue the cull of the leading seeds in Dubai.
The 14th-ranked Andreeva, who reached the semi-finals at the French Open last year, is the youngest player to record five Top 10 wins since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007.
In their previous meeting in Cincinnati last year, Swiatek fought back from a set down to win 7-5 in the third set.
“Last time we played was a close match and it was tough, it was intense,” said Andreeva.
“This time I just tried to tell myself to go for my shots, to be aggressive, to not hesitate. I think that helped me to win in a way.”
Andreeva said she had been consulting a psychologist on “how to work with my anger inside, what to do when I don’t feel great, how to maintain my level when I feel great, how to keep being me.”
Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam winner, failed to convert seven break points before finally taking her opponent’s serve for a 3-1 lead in the second set but Andreeva responded by taking the next five games.
The Pole made 33 unforced errors in the contest.
“I wasn’t really sure where my ball is going to go,” the 23-year-old said.
‘Some things missing:’ “Mirra is a good player. I already could see that before when we practised and when we played in Cincinnati. It’s not like I can win against her when I play worse.”
Swiatek had reached the semi-finals at last week’s Qatar Open, where she was swept off court by Jelena Ostapenko.
“For sure I’m not happy with the results,” she said. “There were some things missing that should have been there.”
Top seeds are struggling for results in the Middle East swing due to the crammed calendar and the travel involved in playing back-to-back WTA 1000 tournaments after a major, Swiatek said after quarter-final exit.
“For sure it’s a calendar thing. We’re not going to be able to be consistent for many years playing week-by-week,” Swiatek told reporters when asked if playing back-to-back WTA 1000 tournaments was a tricky challenge.
“Also it’s not like some time ago that outside of top-20 players, they were just getting destroyed more. Now anybody can win these tournaments. It is like that since a couple of years.
“But I feel like the calendar is not helping. Again, we need to switch continents, we need to switch surfaces, we need to switch the balls – it’s not easy, I’m not surprised.”
Swiatek joined third seed Coco Gauff, who exited in her opening match, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, fourth-seeded defending champion Jasmine Paolini and fifth seed Jessica Pegula to be knocked out.
Andreeva will next face sixth seed Elena Rybakina after the former Wimbledon champion claimed a 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Sofia Kenin of the US.
Rybakina, the highest-ranked player still standing, is in the semi-finals in Dubai for the first time since 2020.
Clara Tauson, the 38th-ranked Dane who knocked out Sabalenka in the last 16, also advanced to the semi-finals by beating Czech Linda Noskova, Pegula’s conqueror, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
“I was texting one of my best friends, ‘I had a great match today, I’m for sure going to play (bad) tomorrow,’” Tauson said.
“But I didn’t. I’m really happy about that. Otherwise I would have lost for sure.”
Tauson will be playing in her first WTA 1000 semi-final where she will face either Karolina Muchova or Sorana Cirstea.
Sabalenka blamed a lack of focus and motivation for her last-16 defeat, where she fell 6-3 6-2 to world number 38 Clara Tauson.
Agencies
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