Athletistic / Tennis. One of the most promising tennis players on the planet is Mirra Andreeva. The 16-year-old Russian has burst onto the WTA Tour so quickly that tennis fans and experts are discussing not only her matches, but also the athlete’s life off the court, and also making predictions about the date on which she will be able to enter the circuit. top 10 in the WTA rankings.

After being eliminated from the Australian Open, where the young Russian reached the fourth round (1/8 final), Andreeva did not participate in official competitions. Recently, Mirra has given practically no informative news. The biggest news concerning her in February was her refusal to participate in the WTA-500 tournament in Doha (Qatar). Therefore, everyone was looking forward to their first match at the tournament in Dubai (UAE).

Mirra Andreeva’s opponent in the first match in almost three weeks was American Python Stearns. She currently occupies 65th place in the WTA rankings, 32 places behind the Russian. Stearns plays aggressive and powerful tennis, which she decided to show from the start of the match. Python rushed onto the court like a hurricane and managed to take Mirra’s serve twice and confidently leave the set behind her – 6:2. If Stearns is in a game, she usually doesn’t let her opponents go.

Photo source: WTA

However, the score reflects not only the excellent game of the American, but also a clear failure in Andreeva’s actions. Mirra seemed unprepared for such a level of competition, she herself made many mistakes (including doubles) and clearly did not look like herself at the Australian Open. Everything went so badly that at the end of the first set, tears appeared in the eyes of the young Russian. Mirra confirmed that she was still a child, which, most likely, attracts millions of fans. Many might have thought that it would all be over in less than an hour, but Mirra managed to teach everyone that she is a real fighter and doesn’t give up until the last draw.

As a result, the second set became a mirror image of the first game – Mirra took control of the match and destroyed her opponent with a score of 6:2. The Russian played the set with so much confidence that she put Stearns to shame, whose number of unforced errors increased significantly. After such a slap, the American asked the judge for a break and retired between sets to the room under the stands. The third match promised to offer tennis fans a real thriller.

However, instead of a thriller, fans saw a drama. After the requested break, Stearns came onto the court charged to fight and seemed to suck all the energy out of Andreeva like a dementor. From the first game, the American’s game took off and Mirra got lost again and gave up. Python won four matches in a row and practically decided the outcome of the confrontation. As a result, the decisive set ended with a score of 6:1 in favor of the American, who advanced to the second round of the thousandth tournament in Dubai.

Mirra Andreeva left the tournament in the United Arab Emirates after the first match. It is possible that this failure will do her good and become a bathtub of cold water for the young Russian woman. We will know the answer to this question very soon, because in March the United States will host two of the most important tournaments at this stage of the season: the ATP-1000 competitions in Indian Wells and Miami. Mirra has not played there yet, but newcomers, as you know, are lucky.

Nikita Serbakov, Athletistic


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