Mirra Andreeva proved her talent once again, beating yet another higher-ranked opponent in a convincing style.
The 16-year-old prodigy is one of the biggest talents on the WTA Tour, and after a very successful 2023 season, all eyes will be on Andreeva in 2024 as she'll be on a quest to prove her talent.
During the off-season, and in preparation for the 2024 season, the Russian competes at the 2023 Négométal Open de Bourg-de-Péage at Complexe Vercors in Bourg-de-Péage, France.
It's an exhibition tournament, which has both men's and women's events, with players such as Alex de Minaur, Adrian Mannarino, David Goffin, and Lucas Pouille competing in the men's tournament.
In the women's event, only three players were set to take part. In the semifinal match, Andreeva took on France's Varvara Gracheva, who recently accepted French citizenship after previously representing Russia.
Gracheva ranked 43rd in the world, is 14 positions ahead of the teenager, who is ranked 57th, and the winner of this match was supposed to take on Croatia's Donna Vekic in the final.
However, the Croatian withdrew from the tournament, and she was replaced by Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine, who awaited the winner of the showdown between Andreeva and Gracheva.
The 16-year-old had a superb start into her semifinal match, breaking her opponent's serve already in the third game, and after adding two more breaks, she won the opening set of the match easily 6-1.
The French player had her chances in the second set, when she managed to stay level with her opponent in the opening four games, with the scoreboard showing 2-2, but after that, Gracheva was always one step behind.
Andreeva once again showed her superb talent, outplaying the higher-ranked player and winning the match 6-1, 6-2 to reach the final of the exhibition tournament in France, setting up a clash with Marta Kostyuk.