Upsets have been the theme at this year’s WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, and Mirra Andreeva is the latest to be the spoiler. Andreeva defeated World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) to reach her first career WTA 1000 semifinal.
MESMERIZING MIRRA! ✨
The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva upsets World No. 2 Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 to reach her FIRST WTA 1000 semifinal!#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/BfcHDiPD8k
— wta (@WTA) February 20, 2025
The 17-year-old is no stranger to being involved in upsets. Last year at Roland Garros, she defeated Aryna Sabalenka. Andreeva is the current World No. 124 whose game was good before but is only getting better. She is among a select few WTA players with a female coach. Andreeva’s coach is former Grand Slam champion Conchita Martinez.
She also has become calmer and more mature during matches. The calm demeanor has helped her get through tough patches in matches though she did not experience any tough patches against Swiatek.
Andreeva and Swiatek exchanged service breaks to open the match, but Andreeva settled into her game quickly. She nailed a series of massive down-the-line forehand winners that left Swiatek shaking her head in disbelief and frustration.
Mirra Andreeva is the first player into the semifinals. In addition to Andreeva, World No. 7 Elena Rybakina and World No. 17 Karolina Muchova are the only Top 20 players remaining.
In other quarterfinal action, Clara Tauson, who took out Aryna Sabalenka yesterday, is taking on Linda Noskova, who upset Jessica Pegula on Wednesday. Rybakina faces Sofia Kenin, and Muchova will play Sorana Cirstea who spent nearly 5 hours on the court on Wednesday winning two three-set matches over Americans Alycia Parks and Emma Navarro.
With the seeded players falling right and left, this could be an opportunity for an unexpected winner. Don’t overlook Clara Tauson who is having a great start to the season, winning the ASB Classic in January.
