Rome, March 12 (LaPresse) – Since their introduction to the calendar in 2009, no player had ever reached five quarterfinals in WTA 1000 events before turning 18. Until now, with Mirra Andreeva. Trained by Conchita Martinez and already ranked in the Top 10 after her victory at the WTA 1000 in Doha, Andreeva has extended her list of records at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
In addition to the record itself, what’s impressive is how it was achieved: a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory over Elena Rybakina, the world number 7, who was taught a 63-minute lesson at Stadium 2 of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The Kazakh, second in the WTA circuit for aces this season behind Clara Tauson, didn’t manage to land a single ace against Andreeva, who finished the match with 19 winners to 4 and 19 unforced errors to 33. "Today I knew exactly what I had to do, and hard work always pays off," she said after her win over Clara Tauson – it’s hard to argue with that.
Also reaching the quarterfinals with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory was Elina Svitolina, who defeated American Jessica Pegula after a strong second and third set. Svitolina will now face the rising star Andreeva in what promises to be a tough test.
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