For the first time in 16 years, three teenagers have qualified for the second round of the first Grand Slam of the year. However, one of them went further and secured her place in the fourth round in Melbourne.
It continues to develop Australian Open and there is a 16 year old girl who More than a young promise, he already seems to be a present in women’s tennis it is Mirra Andreeva which has already caused a big surprise to eliminate one of the competition favorites, the current six in the world Ons Jabeur in the second round. The Russian has just reached the round of 16 of the first Grand Slam of the year, becoming one of the biggest attractions of the competition.
Yes OK The tennis world met her when at the Madrid Open, the same week she turned 16, she eliminated 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernández in the first round. This attracted more attention although in later rounds She leaves behind two top 20 players, Beatriz Haddad and Magda Linette (currently 12th and 24th in the WTA rankings respectively). Eventually She was eliminated in the round of 16 against Aryna Sabalenka (who would be a losing finalist to Iga Świątek, current world number one).
These results were more than enough for tennis fans to have her on their radar and watch her every time she appears entered in a competition on the WTA circuit. For this edition of the Australian Open it was no exception and that’s how Andreeva took it, because as the rounds progress it seems that her level increases with each times.
Its beginnings were already solid, beat American Bernarda Pera in 1 hour and 18 minutes, currently 71st in the world rankings and 13 years older than the Russian (7-5 and 6-2). But the real challenge will come later, when she will have to face the Tunisian, Ons Jabeur, six times world champion and three-time Grand Slam finalist. Before the meeting, no one could predict what would happen. Andreeva showed her best tennis and He defeated him in just 56 minutes of the match by partials of 6-2 and 6-2. being so far the big surprise of this edition and elsewhere becoming the youngest player in the Open Era to win a set 6–0 against a top-10 singles player.
From the third round, he not only continued to show an excellent tennis level, but also made it known that despite his young age, he possessed great mental strength. She started by losing the first set against 21-year-old Frenchwoman Diane Parry (72nd), by a resounding 1-6. In the second round he recovered and elevated his tennis to that shown in the previous rounds winning it by the same result. Already in the last set, his play would once again decrease and he found himself trailing 5-1, in addition to saving a match point against him.
From there he would show his mental power, staying with his rival’s service three times in a row, to then win the match in the tie-break of the last set by 10-5 and two hours and 25 minutes of dispute.
With this result, she became the fourth player in the last 30 years to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon and the Australian Open before the age of 17. join Martina Hingis Tatiana Golovin and Coco Gauff (3rd).
The next challenge will be to face the Czech Barbora Krejčíková (11th), 28 years old and former world number two. looking to continue surprising in the Slam.
Limited by rules
However, all is not happiness for the Russian, because due to her young age, Regulations imposed by the WTA state that she can only enter 12 professional competitions, while at 17 this number will increase to 16 and only when she comes of age will she be able to enter. freely register for the number of tournaments she wants and it is her technical team who decides.
After the meritorious victory against Parry, she was consulted on the rule in question, ensuring that “The regulations are what they are and I cannot ignore them. If I don’t play tournaments, I sign up for exhibitions” so, aware of the good level she demonstrates, she doesn’t really seem to care.
To beat the Czech, the young tennis player would qualify for the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam for the first time , improving on what was done at Wimbledon last year. In the round of 16, we could see faces with the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka current 2nd in the world and defending champion.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
