Mirra Andreeva triumphs in Dubai: wins first WTA 1000 title and cracks Top 10

#mirra #andreeva #tennis #sports #games #rimpactx Andreeva triumphs in Dubai; wins first WTA 1000 title and cracks Top 10 Mirra Andreeva capped a career-best week by capturing her second and biggest WTA title, defeating Clara Tauson 7-6(1), 6-1 to win the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday night. In a showdown between two players who were each contesting their first WTA 1000 final, it was No. 12 seed Andreeva who bested 38th-ranked Tauson in 1 hour and 46 minutes, breaking new ground for teenagers at this level. At 17 years and 298 days old, Andreeva is the youngest WTA 1000 finalist and champion since the WTA 1000 format began in 2009. All three teens who have made a WTA 1000 final since 2020 have won the title (also Iga Swiatek at 2021 Rome and Coco Gauff at 2023 Cincinnati). An additional milestone will come Andreeva's way after hoisting her first WTA 1000 trophy: she will make her Top 10 debut in the PIF WTA Rankings on Monday. With her run to the Dubai title, Andreeva is projected to rise from No. 14 to No. 9 in the updated rankings. She will become the first 17-year-old to be ranked in the Top 10 since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007. Match moments: A back-and-forth opening set saw Andreeva fall behind 2-0 after consecutive double faults, but the teen fired a backhand winner to immediately pull back on serve. Then, at 4-3, Andreeva triumphed in a lengthy rally with a winning forehand, which spurred her on to win eight of the next nine points and serve for the set at 5-4. Tauson was not done yet, slamming a powerful forehand of her own to level the set at 5-5 without facing break point. But once the pair reached the tiebreak, Andreeva took charge, hitting an ace for 3-0 and dragging more errors from the Tauson racquet. Andreeva cruised through the breaker and earned a hard-fought one-set lead after exactly one hour. Andreeva’s backhand caught fire in the second set, and she used that wing to break for 3-1. Tauson continued to battle and earned three break points in the next game, but two excellent serves and another backhand winner on the baseline allowed Andreeva to erase those chances and consolidate for 4-1. Andreeva punched an overhead winner to break again for 5-1, and she routinely served out the match to clinch victory. Andreeva had 12 forehand winners and 10 backhand winners in the clash, and she converted four of her seven break points. mirra andreeva mirra andreeva vs iga swiatek mirra andreeva interview mirra andreeva vs rybakina mirra andreeva live mirra andreeva tennis mirra andreeva vs erika andreeva mirra andreeva dubai mirra andreeva practice mirra andreeva australian open mirra andreeva vs mirra andreeva vs sabalenka mirra andreeva rybakina mirra andreeva diana shnaider mirra andreeva andreeva clara tauson dubai open tauson andreeva tennis