17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva concluded an incredible week in Dubai by becoming the youngest-ever WTA 1000 champion, defeating Clara Tauson on Feb 22.
After overcoming three Grand Slam champions, including the second-seeded Iga Swiatek, she put an end to Tauson’s impressive run in the tournament, claiming a final performance of 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 victory.
This triumph not only marked her first WTA 1000 trophy but also secured a top-10 debut, with the Russian set to climb to No. 9 when the new rankings are published.
Andreeva’s inspiration to win
Andreeva acknowledged that she wasn’t at her best during the final round but found her inspiration in interviews with NBA legend LeBron James, where he spoke about how champions can still prevail even if they don’t play at their best.
The athlete admitted: “I just told myself, ‘You can either let that negativity come into your head and kill you, or you can choose to be 100 per cent mentally and fight for every point… And if something doesn’t go your way, fine, you forget about it, and you play one point at a time.’”
She added: “I’ve been listening to a lot of LeBron James interviews, and he said that it’s easy to be confident and to play good when everything goes your way, but what makes you a champion is when you’re giving your best when you don’t feel great. So that’s what I tried to do today.”
Andreeva also revealed that she had been watching highlights from Federer’s 2017 Australian Open victory over Rafael Nadal before each of her matches this week, taking valuable lessons from the Swiss athlete’s composure and strategy.
With her determination and skills, Andreeva is now the youngest WTA 1000 finalist since 2009.
Highlights of the game
Andreeva played a nearly perfect tiebreak in the first set, taking the lead after 60 minutes. In the second set, she broke Tauson twice to go up 5-1 and then served to win on her first try.
The young athlete defeated her powerful opponent in 1 hour and 46 minutes with her display of all-court skills.
Alongside the 1,000 ranking points from her Dubai Championships win, the athlete earned US$597,000 (S$798,000) in prize money, which she will give to her father since she does not manage her own finances yet.