On Friday, February 21, Mirra Andreeva will take on Elena Rybakina in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Andreeva has never reached a 1000-level final, so there will be a good amount of pressure on the 17-year-old. But Andreeva has already proven that she can block out the noise, and it feels like she’s due for a massive result soon. Perhaps she’ll get it here.
Andreeva is fresh off a thorough, 6-3, 6-3 beatdown of Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. The teenager has now reached this stage of the tournament without dropping a set, and it’s hard not to like her chances against Rybakina.
Of course, I had Sofia Kenin to win a set against Rybakina on Thursday, and I don’t necessarily love the idea of getting beaten by the same player two matches in a row. However, Kenin had some openings to win that second set, and she might have done so had she been a little sharper. And Andreeva’s reliability factor is a heck of a lot higher than that of Kenin.
Rybakina’s first serve is always going to give her a chance to win matches, which is why she’s an elite player. But Andreeva is sixth on the WTA Tour in break percentage (41.3%) over the last 52 weeks, so she should be able to get a bunch of returns back and reset points to neutral. She will also likely outperform Rybakina in longer rallies, as she’s quicker, has a better understanding of how to cover the court—and possesses the biggest weapon on this court: her backhand.
