(Reuters) – An inspired Mirra Andreeva beat world number two Iga Swiatek for the first time in her career with a dominant 6-3 6-3 victory as the Russian 17-year-old moved into the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Championships on Thursday.
With her victory, 12th seed Andreeva moved into the first WTA 1000 semi-final of her career while Swiatek became another top seed to exit the tournament after world number one Aryna Sabalenka was knocked out on Wednesday.
Andreeva is also the youngest semi-finalist in Dubai since the tournament was first held in 2001 — a significant improvement from her last visit when she was knocked out in the first round last year.
“Honestly, I was really nervous before the match and we played in Cincinnati last year (where Swiatek won their quarter-final match) and it was pretty intense,” Andreeva said.
“So I just told myself that I played great and I just need to continue to play aggressive and go for my shots. It was also not easy with all the fans (supporting her) but I think we were even. I had a lot of people supporting me.
Andreeva found herself on the ropes early as she struggled to hold serve in her first service game of the opening set but eventually held on to make it 1-1.
Andreeva then broke Swiatek and continued to impress, covering the court well while also reading Swiatek’s shots to set up winners and the Russian broke the world number two once more, firing a forehand return down the line on set point.
The 17-year-old found herself trailing 3-1 in the second set but corrected course after a quick chat with her coach — former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez — to win five games in a row.
The determined teenager broke Swiatek in the penultimate game to serve for the set, eventually sealing victory when the Pole’s return on match point went wide.
“I think she (Martinez) didn’t tell me anything new. She told me everything I knew already,” Andreeva added.
“She just told me to keep going because I played good and she just told me to go for my shots, that I don’t have to change anything.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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