“I've been dreaming of having a press conference with a trophy by my side, so finally it happened,” said 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, moments after securing her place in history at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. With a dominant straight-sets victory over Denmark’s Clara Tauson (7-6(1), 6-1), Andreeva became the youngest player to win a WTA 1000 title since the format’s inception in 2009.
Her triumph will also see her break into the world’s top 10 when the latest PIF WTA World Rankings are released on Monday, making her the first teenager since 2007 to achieve the feat. But for Andreeva, it was about more than rankings or records.
I feel like I have everything I ever wanted. I won the tournament, I’ve already reached my goal for the year, my family is travelling with me, I have a great team… I don’t know what else I need. I feel happy, and this is all I need.
The teenage sensation, who is still too young to have her own bank account, joked that her US$597,000 prize money would be in the hands of her father.
All questions to my dad. It all goes on his credit card. I’m hoping he leaves me some to spend somewhere, to buy chips and Coke…Honestly, I don’t even know what I want.
The women’s tournament in Dubai, celebrating its 25th anniversary, once again produced two first-time WTA 1000 finalists despite featuring 36 of the world’s top 40 players. Tauson, exhausted after a gruelling semi-final the night before, admitted she had little left to give.
I mean, I can’t tell you where it doesn’t hurt right now. My body was really, really tired. Even if I had won the first set, I’m not sure I would have played very good tennis in the second. But I tried to put on the best show I could.
Andreeva, who defeated three Grand Slam champions en route to the final, overcame an early setback when she dropped her first service game after two consecutive double-faults. Tauson, however, failed to capitalise, and after a tense first-set battle, the Russian teen took control in the tiebreak before steamrolling through the second set.
Now firmly among the sport’s elite, Andreeva is already thinking about what comes next.
Well, I haven't thought about it until right now. The higher your ranking, the harder it is to climb. But this is the exact goal that I’m going to set for myself: To be top 5 by the end of the year. I’m curious if I will be able to achieve it.
