Teenage star Mirra Andreeva produced a stunning performance to demolish Ons Jabeur in the second round of the Australian Open for the loss of only two games.
The 16-year-old was devastated to lose in the girls’ singles final last year but quickly made an impression in the senior game with runs to the third round of the French Open and the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Andreeva counts Jabeur as her idol but she was utterly ruthless under the roof on Rod Laver Arena, defeating the sixth seed and two-time Wimbledon finalist 6-0 6-2 in just 54 minutes.
Jabeur could only smile in astonishment at some of the shots Andreeva played, while she celebrated like an underdog when she finally won a game at the start of the second set.
She was unable to stall Andreeva for long, though, with the young Russian branding it the best match she has played.
“In the first set I played really amazing tennis, I didn’t expect that from myself,” said the teenager.
“I’m happy I played with Ons. It was one of my dreams to play against her, because I really like the way she plays. It meant a lot, this match that I won.
“She’s so nice. Now, after the match, she came to me, she wished me luck. I just know that she is who she is and she never changes.”
Andreeva is projected to rise inside the top 35 as a result of her run here despite being severely restricted in how many tournaments she can play because of her age.
She is trying not to be in too much of a hurry, saying: “I don’t think that I achieve something incredible, so I have time still to do that. Sometimes when I’m lying in bed, I can overthink a little bit, but the next morning I’m totally fine.
“I’m 16. Why do I have to think about the rankings? I’m going a bit higher, and so my goal is to go higher and higher. I just try not to think about that and just to think about tennis.”
Another young Russian making waves in Melbourne is 20-year-old qualifier Maria Timofeeva, who is playing in the main draw of a grand slam for the first time and ended former champion Caroline Wozniacki’s comeback.
The Dane retired here four years ago and is back with her two young children in tow but she could not build on a strong start, losing 1-6 6-4 6-1.
Wozniacki has other responsibilities now but she could not hide her disappointment, saying: “I would like to say that in my mind I can just kind of brush it under the carpet but it sucks just as much.
“Losing now and losing back then, it doesn’t really change. As a competitor, you want to win everything. When you have the family here and you bring everyone, you want to win even more because you want to stay longer and not have to move around.
“I felt like this was my match to win, and I didn’t.”
Swiatek soars into Madrid Open last 16 after dropping just two games against Cirstea
Iga Swiatek stormed through to the Madrid Open last 16 following a dominant straight-sets victory over Sorana Cirstea.
The world number one dropped just two games as she inflicted a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 rout on her Romanian opponent in the Spanish capital.
Swiatek, who was runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in last year's event, will play Sara Sorribes Tormo in the round of 16 after the Spaniard defeated two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.
The Pole is now 26-4 for the season, in which she has already triumphed at the Qatar Open and Indian Wells Open, as she eyes the ninth WTA 1000 singles title of her career.
Data debrief
Swiatek is through to her sixth round of 16 from seven main-draw appearances in WTA 1000 events on clay (85.7 per cent) - the highest percentage rate among players with at least five such appearances since the format's introduction in 2009.
The three-time French Open champion also boasts the best WTA match win rate of any player since 2000 on clay (87 per cent). Overall, only Chris Evert (94.5 per cent), Margaret Court (89.5 per cent) and Steffi Graf (89.2 per cent) boast a higher percentage in the Open Era.
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
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