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Belarusian tennis superstar and world number one Aryna Sabalenka has reached the final of the Indian Wells after defeating American Madison Keys in a one-sided semi-final in straight sets 6-0, 6-1. The 26-year-old will be taking on Russian teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva, who got the better of defending champion Iga Swiatek from Poland in the semi-final a grueling three-setter 7-6 (7-1), 1-6, 6-3, to book her place in the grand finale.
Notably, Aryna Sabalenka was in red-form in the semi-final of the Indian Wells, avenging the loss against Madison Keys at the Australian Open two months ago. Meanwhile, her opponent in the final, Mirra Andreeva, who is just 17 years of age, defeated Iga Swiatek twice in two different tournaments after knocking her out at the quarter-final stage in Dubai last month.
I was just really hungry to get this win against Madison: Sabalenka
After winning the semi-final against Madison Keys at Indian Wells, Aryna Sabalenka remembered her defeat against the same opponent in Australia two months ago. She was quoted as saying, as per BBC Sport, “That Australian Open match was really heartbreaking for me, and I really needed some time to recover after that. And if I would lose today again, it would get in my head and I didn't want that to happen. I was really focused, so I was just really hungry to get this win against Madison.”
Meanwhile, Mirra Andreeva was happy about performance against Iga Swiatek despite their Indian Wells semi-final clash stretching to three sets with every point seeming like a battle. She commented on her impressive comeback in the final set after being steamrolled in the second set, “I feel that I was dealing with the nerves and the pressure pretty good, so I just feel proud of myself.”
“After she literally killed me in the second set, I was just 'well, OK, might just try to fight'. There is not much I could do about it. She was playing amazing,” said the Russian teenager, who could become the youngest winner of a WTA 1000 tournament at Indian Wells.
