Mirra Andreeva reached the final of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday, surviving a late challenge from American Hailey Baptiste to win 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) at the Caja Mágica in one hour and 39 minutes.
The 19-year-old Russian, seeded ninth and the only top-ten player left in the draw, will play Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in Saturday’s final after Kostyuk defeated Austria’s Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 in the night session. It will be Andreeva’s third WTA 1000 final and her first in Madrid; she lifted the trophies in Dubai and Indian Wells last year.
A day after her 19th birthday, Andreeva became the first teenager to reach three WTA 1000 finals since the category was introduced in 2009. The win was also her 12th on clay this season, more than any player on tour, and guarantees her return to No. 7 in the rankings next week regardless of Saturday’s result.
The match
A single break in the eighth game of the opener was enough for Andreeva, who served out the set without facing a break point. She moved 5-3 ahead in the second and stepped up to serve for the match, but Baptiste, the No. 32 in the world, broke back to force a tiebreak and surged into a 4-0 lead.
Andreeva clawed level at 4-4, before Baptiste pushed back ahead 6-4 to bring up two set points. The Russian saved the first with a lob that dropped on the baseline and the second with an ace. She earned a second match point of her own at 7-6, only for Baptiste to answer with another ace, before a backhand winner down the line on her third match point closed it out 10-8.
“I’m super happy to be in the final, but even happier with how calm I stayed after I couldn’t convert the match point,” Andreeva said on court. “I’m super happy that I stayed focused in the tiebreak.”
The Russian, who is coached by Spain’s Conchita Martínez, won 35 of 43 points behind her first serve and faced just one break point all match — the one Baptiste converted at 5-3 in the second set. She had previously beaten Baptiste in straight sets in the third round of Wimbledon last year, their only previous meeting.
Baptiste’s run ends
The American had produced the upset of the tournament on Tuesday, beating defending champion and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in three sets after saving six match points. Baptiste leaves Madrid having reached her first WTA 1000 semifinal and is projected to crack the top 25 for the first time.
The final
Kostyuk, the 26th seed, has yet to lose a set on clay this season and is riding a nine-match tour-level winning streak that includes the title in Rouen earlier this month. The Ukrainian leads the head-to-head with Andreeva 1-0, having won their only previous meeting in straight sets in the round of 16 in Madrid last year.
Andreeva said she would not watch the second semifinal and would leave the scouting to Martínez. “I don’t consider myself the favorite for the match because I know that whoever gets to the final is a tough opponent,” she said. “I’ve learned not to care about the rankings of my opponent or the last name of my opponent. I’m just going to try to go on court and do the things that I have to do.”
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
