16-year-old Mirra Andreeva is out of the 2023 Hong Kong Open after completely losing focus following a great start against Leylah Fernandez.
Andreeva bested Fernandez earlier this year in her first match at the Madrid Open, and in many ways, it's what started her journey on the WTA Tour.
Months later, she faced Fernandez again, but this time, the Canadian won despite Andreeva winning the opening set. It's not a huge surprise because she's looked more vulnerable recently as we see more of her, which is expected.
The best player will adapt to her style, and she's still somewhat raw as a player despite being a great talent. Fernandez struggled to find a good rhythm in the opening set, which caused her to lose her serve early.
She never broke back and lost the opening set, even though her play looked better and better. The crucial thing was the ease with which she won the second set, as it totally shifted momentum on her side and, more importantly, built up her confidence.
She was a different player from that point on, and despite dropping her serve early in the 3rd, Fernandez never wavered. She kept pushing Andreeva as the teenager fell apart, showing more and more frustration with every miss.
Fernandez broke back immediately and then added another break and then another break to turn a 0-1 score line into a 5-1 one. She failed to serve it out, allowing Andreeva a minor chance, but held firm to win the match.
The final score was 3-6 6-1 6-3 for Fernandez, who did the same thing that Elena Rybakina managed to do last week. She turned around a match against the Russian which looked out of her reach, and much of that has to do with the inexperience of Andreeva.
She'll get better with it in time, but this was a good chance to progress deep into the event.
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