INDIAN WELLS (The Thursday Times) — Mirra Andreeva won the last 11 games of the match to beat world number two Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 on Wednesday and reach the semi-finals of the WTA Finals as the winner of her group.
The 19-year-old Russian, who won the French Open this year, was 4-1 down in the opening set before Sabalenka’s game fell apart. Andreeva won 45 of the final 55 points, according to the WTA.
Serving for the first set at 15-30, Andreeva hit three aces in a row to take it. She finished with 16 winners and six unforced errors, while Sabalenka made 23 unforced errors and did not serve a single ace.
“I will be honest, I feel like Aryna did not have the best day,” Andreeva said in an on-court interview. “I feel like I cannot really take all the credit today.”
A shoot-out for the last place
Andreeva had beaten Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0 on Monday. Sabalenka, a four-time Grand Slam singles champion who played with taping on her knee, will now meet Svitolina on Friday for the group’s other semi-final place.
Svitolina kept her hopes alive earlier on Wednesday by coming from a set down to beat Karolina Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, despite taking a medical timeout for a right hip problem. Muchova made 39 unforced errors.
The season-ending tournament is being played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California this year.
