Mirra Andreeva was not entirely happy with her latest performance at the WTA Finals, despite emphatically beating Aryna Sabalenka.
Andreeva beat Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 in Indian Wells, in a match where she won the last 11 consecutive games.
This victory has confirmed that Andreeva has won her round-robin group in her singles debut at the WTA Finals, and has already booked her spot in the semi-finals.
Despite the manner of her victory over the highest-ranked player in the WTA Finals field in Sabalenka, Andreeva has since admitted that she was actually quite angry during this match.
Mirra Andreeva was ‘angry’ after losing her serve against Aryna Sabalenka
Andreeva actually found herself 4-1 down in the first set of her victory over Sabalenka, having double faulted to be broken by the Belarusian. When speaking to Tennis Channel after the match, Andreeva explained why this made her really angry with herself.
“Honestly I felt like in the beginning, I was struggling a little bit with finding my rhythm,” said Andreeva. “I was struggling with her serve. She is obviously a tough competitor, she is one of the most aggressive players on Tour, so I felt like I had to have a little bit more time to adjust to the way she plays.
“Afterwards I was angry that I was not able to hold my serve, then I lost my serve with a double fault. I was really angry with myself for losing that game, not because she did something great but just because I [messed up].
“After that I was on a roll and I was trying to play more aggressive and put more intensity with my legs, and after that I felt like I was finding my rhythm and feeling more and more comfortable.”
There has been a lot of discussion surrounding Andreeva’s attitude, particularly following Jessica Pegula being overheard calling the teenager a ‘diva’. Andreeva was subsequently asked a follow-up question about how she channels her anger, as she explained that she tried to turn it into ‘good anger’ rather than try and get rid of the emotion completely.
“I am just trying to direct my anger into the good anger,” added Andreeva. “I am not trying to get rid of it, because I have tried it and it doesn’t lead to a good outcome. I feel like the good Mirra was trying to talk the bad Mirra down, so it was just sometimes I felt like I was able to direct my bad anger and direct it more on to the good side.
“After that I just try to go for my shots and not wait for her to do something because I felt she would take the advantage and just do whatever she does on the court, so I wanted to do something first and I felt like that was working pretty well.”
Mirra Andreeva matches Serena and Venus Williams record after latest win
Andreeva has only ever played two singles matches at the WTA Finals in her entire career, and she has already made history after beating Sabalenka.
The victory over Sabalenka for Andreeva was the second match at the WTA Finals this year where she has won a set 6-0, having already beaten Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0.
This means that Andreeva has become one of six women to have won multiple 6-0 sets at the WTA Finals this century, joining the likes of Serena and Venus Williams to do so. The two players with the most 6-0 sets won at the WTA Finals are Caroline Wozniacki and Iga Swiatek, having both won three sets without losing a game at their respective tournaments in 2017 and 2023.
|
Players who have won two or more 6-0 sets at the WTA Finals since 2000 |
6-0 sets won |
|
Serena Williams (2001) |
2 |
|
Kim Clijsters (2003) |
2 |
|
Venus Williams (2008) |
2 |
|
Caroline Wozniacki (2017) |
3 |
|
Iga Swiatek (2023) |
3 |
|
Mirra Andreeva (2026) |
2* |
Andreeva will be hoping to join Wozniacki and Swiatek in her subsequent matches at the WTA Finals, of which she is already guaranteed to have two more after advancing to the semi-finals.
The Roland Garros champion will begin with a dead rubber against the already eliminated Karolina Muchova, who Andreeva will face on Friday, November 13.
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Esta notícia foi originalmente publicada em: Fonte original