Teenager Mirra Andreeva stunned second seed Iga Swiatek to become the youngest woman to reach the semi-finals of the Dubai Championships on Thursday, attributing victory to working on her “anger inside,” while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko defeated the US’ Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani 7-5, 5-7, 10-3 in the women’s doubles quarter-finals.
The 17-year-old Russian came from a break down in the second set to win 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 36 minutes and continue the cull of the leading seeds in Dubai. The 14th-ranked Andreeva, who reached the semi-finals at the French Open last year, is the youngest player to record five top-10 wins since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007.
Hsieh and Ostapenko, the third seeds, had to dig deep for their victory. After winning the first set 5-7, the game went to a decider after they lost the second set 5-7. They rallied from 2-0 down in the third set, scoring eight consecutive points to win 10-3. Hsieh and Ostapenko are to face China’s Yang Zhaoxuana and Xu Yifan in the semi-final today.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Yang and Xu defeated Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva and Czechia’s Linda Noskova, 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 to set up their semi-final clash with Hsieh and Ostapenko.
In Andreeva and Swiatek’s previous meeting in Cincinnati last year, Swiatek fought back from a set down to win 7-5 in the third set.
“Last time we played was a close match and it was tough, it was intense,” Andreeva said. “This time I just tried to tell myself to go for my shots, to be aggressive, to not hesitate. I think that helped me to win in a way.”
Andreeva said she had been consulting a psychologist on “how to work with my anger inside, what to do when I don’t feel great, how to maintain my level when I feel great, how to keep being me.”
Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam winner, failed to convert seven break points before finally taking her opponent’s serve for a 3-1 lead in the second set but Andreeva responded by taking the next five games. The Pole made 33 unforced errors in the contest.
“I wasn’t really sure where my ball is going to go,” the 23-year-old said.
Swiatek joined third seed Coco Gauff, who exited in her opening match, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, fourth-seeded defending champion Jasmine Paolini and fifth seed Jessica Pegula to be knocked out.
Andreeva would next face sixth seed Elena Rybakina after the former Wimbledon champion claimed a 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) victory over Sofia Kenin of the US.
Rybakina, the highest-ranked player still standing, is in the semi-finals in Dubai for the first time since 2020.
Clara Tauson, the 38th-ranked Dane who knocked out Sabalenka in the last 16, also advanced to the semi-finals by beating Czech Linda Noskova, Pegula’s conqueror, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
“I was texting one of my best friends, ‘I had a great match today, I’m for sure going to play [bad] tomorrow,’” Tauson said. “But I didn’t. I’m really happy about that. Otherwise I would have lost for sure.”
Tauson would be playing in her first WTA 1000 semi-final where she would face world No. 17 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.
Muchova defeated Dubai-based Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-2, 7-5, her 10th successive WTA quarter-final win, despite 31 unforced errors.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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