Mirra Andreeva may have beaten Elena Rybakina just last month but the 17-year-old doesn’t expect to have an easy job at all when they meet again in Indian Wells.
In a rematch of last month’s WTA 1000 final in Dubai, the Russian destroyed Clara Tauson 6-3 6-0. Now in the Indian Wells round-of-16, the 17-year-old is to meet another rival she beat en route to winning her maiden WTA 1000 title.
In Dubai, Rybakina made a slow start to their semifinal match but then won the second set and also opened a 3-1 lead in the third set. But then, Andreeva impressively won the next five games and completed a 6-4 4-6 6-3 win.
So far in Indian Wells, both the Russian and the Kazakh started their respective campaigns with back-to-back straight-set wins.
The head-to-head between them stands at 1-1 as Rybakina won their first meeting in 2023 Beijing.
“It won’t be easy. I beat her in Dubai in three sets. She’s won this event before. She feels comfortable here. She serves big and goes for her shots. We’ll see who’s gonna be better that day,” Andreeva said when asked about facing the 2022 Wimbledon champion.
Andreeva on if players are treating her differently now
In Indian Wells, the 17-year-old arrived as a WTA 1000 champion after a tournament in which she beat Rybakina and Iga Swiatek. While she continued her fine form in the desert, she is still not completely sure if the opposition is now looking at her differently and with even more respect.
“I have no idea how they react when they see my name in the draw. I don’t know. It feels the same, you know, with most of the players. We just say, hi, how are you, and that’s really it,” Andreeva said.
“I don’t know. I don’t feel any changes. I would say it’s pretty much the same. So I would like to know their reaction when they see my name in the draw, but I don’t.”
Tennis World USA