French Open champion Mirra Andreeva reached the China Open semifinals on Thursday, battling past Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) in an all-Russian quarterfinal in Beijing.
The 19-year-old had lost her previous two meetings against Alexandrova without winning a set, but finally broke through in one hour and 53 minutes. Andreeva led 4-1 in the second set and served for the match at 5-3, only for Alexandrova to fight back and force a tiebreak. There, Andreeva fired a forehand winner to move 3-2 ahead, let out a roar and took five of the final six points to seal her first win over her older opponent.
Andreeva admitted the nerves had been real. She said she felt Alexandrova had played better at times, that she had not taken her chances, and that she was thrilled to get her very first win against her.
The fourth seed is chasing a fourth singles title of the year and now faces Nikola Bartunkova, the 20-year-old Czech who routed fellow Czech Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-0 for her first WTA 1000 semifinal.
The run carries a notable milestone: Andreeva became the youngest player to reach the China Open semifinals since Agnes Szavay in 2007, and only Coco Gauff has reached more WTA 1000 semifinals as a teenager since the format began in 2009.
Sources:
Andreeva beats Alexandrova to reach China Open semifinals — NBC Sports / Associated Press
Third time's the charm: Andreeva gets first win over Alexandrova, makes Beijing semis — WTA
The 19-year-old had lost her previous two meetings against Alexandrova without winning a set, but finally broke through in one hour and 53 minutes. Andreeva led 4-1 in the second set and served for the match at 5-3, only for Alexandrova to fight back and force a tiebreak. There, Andreeva fired a forehand winner to move 3-2 ahead, let out a roar and took five of the final six points to seal her first win over her older opponent.
Andreeva admitted the nerves had been real. She said she felt Alexandrova had played better at times, that she had not taken her chances, and that she was thrilled to get her very first win against her.
The fourth seed is chasing a fourth singles title of the year and now faces Nikola Bartunkova, the 20-year-old Czech who routed fellow Czech Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-0 for her first WTA 1000 semifinal.
The run carries a notable milestone: Andreeva became the youngest player to reach the China Open semifinals since Agnes Szavay in 2007, and only Coco Gauff has reached more WTA 1000 semifinals as a teenager since the format began in 2009.
Sources:
Andreeva beats Alexandrova to reach China Open semifinals — NBC Sports / Associated Press
Third time's the charm: Andreeva gets first win over Alexandrova, makes Beijing semis — WTA
