Teenage Phenom Andreeva Avoids Shock Loss In Cleveland After Winning First Set 6-0
WTA
16-year-old Mirra Andreeva once again proved why she's one of the biggest talents on the WTA Tour, beating Tamara Korpatsch at the 2023 Cleveland Open.
It seems like the age of teenage phenoms on the WTA Tour, but right now, no star shines as bright as Mirra Andreeva, of course, except for Coco Gauff, who is already an established player on the WTA Tour and won the Cincinnati Masters recently, despite still being a teenager.
And the young Russian may follow in the footsteps of Gauff, who burst onto the tennis scene at the age of 15. That was exactly Andreeva's age when she upset world no. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia at the 2023 Madrid Open, and the youngster keeps proving it was not a fluke.
After a great Wimbledon run, the teenager broke into the Top 100, and since then, she played only one tournament in Lausanne. Despite thrashing Dayana Yastremska in the first round, Andreeva couldn't follow up on the win in her second-round match, but that's behind her, and it was time to focus on the 2023 Cleveland Open.
Initially, the 16-year-old was set to play against 43-year-old Venus Williams in a battle of generations, but after the seven-time Grand Slam champion withdrew from the tournament, Andreeva faced a last-minute opponent change.
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But it wasn't a completely unknown opponent for the youngster, as she took on Tamara Korpatsch, who she defeated earlier this year in the Wimbledon qualifying. And it may have been the familiarity with her opponent that gave the Russian confidence early on.
In the opening set of the match, Andreeva seemed to be unstoppable, winning 24 of 30 points played in the first set, and thrashing her opponent comfortably 6-0 to set up her first-round match for success.
But despite winning the first set in a convincing fashion, the Russian soon had to be worried about the win as she allowed her opponent break points in the second set, and after Korpatsch converted one of them, she won the second set 6-3 to force a decider.
The 16-year-old jumped into the lead early in the third set, leading 4-2, but then, she just couldn't force the ball past her opponent, losing 13 of the following 15 rallies, and suddenly Korpatsch served for the match.
Yet, Andreeva was able to avoid the shock loss, winning three consecutive games to win the match 6-0, 3-6, 7-5 and advance to the second round of the 2023 Cleveland Open, awaiting the winner of the all-American match between the ninth-seeded Sloane Stephens and Lauren Davis.
