Andreeva wins 12 of last 13 games to capture Adelaide title

If you need evidence that things can change in an instant, look no further than Mirra Andreeva’s performance in the Adelaide final on Saturday.

The World No. 8 fell behind 3-0 early in the first set against Victoria Mboko, who entered riding the momentum of a quarterfinal win over defending champion Madison Keys and a sub-hour semifinal victory over Kimberly Birrell.

From there, Andreeva completely flipped the script. She reeled off nine straight games, and 12 of the last 13, to roll to a 6-3, 6-1 win in 64 minutes and capture the Adelaide title.

The victory gives the 18-year-old her fourth WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz title and her first at the WTA 500 level.

“Hello, everyone,” Andreeva said during the trophy presentation. “First of course, I’m going to say congrats to Vicky and her team. You have been playing amazing since last year, and I just want to congratulate you for the great week. I hope we can make many more finals together in the future, and I’m wishing you the best of luck for the rest of the season.”

She then poked a little fun at her own team.

“I don’t know, I guess my team comes next,” Andreeva said. “But I do feel like it was all me. I don’t know what I can say. I’ve been practicing a lot. I’ve been working, sweating, and I don’t even know why you’re here, honestly.”

Andreeva did go on to properly thank her team, as well as her mom, and finally herself, for being “brave” among other reasons.

And she certainly played brave tennis, not just in the final but all week in Adelaide, and it reflected in her scorelines.

R16: 6-3, 6-1 in 69 minutes over Marie Bouzkova

QF: 6-2, 6-0 in 67 minutes over Maya Joint

SF: 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour, 24 minutes over Diana Shnaider

F: 6-3, 6-1 in 64 minutes over Mboko

Across four matches, Andreeva recorded 21 breaks in just 63 games. On serve, she was just as sharp, winning 89 of 125 first-serve points -- a touch over 71%.

That pattern held in the final. Andreeva broke Mboko five times and won 75% of her first-serve points (and 67% on her second). She also continued to show why she’s already one of the more polished players in the women’s game, finishing with 15 winners to 11 unforced errors and displaying unmatched consistency on both her forehand and backhand to keep Mboko off balance.

The title adds a WTA 500 trophy to a collection that already included a WTA 250 and two WTA 1000s. She also owns a WTA 1000 and WTA 500 title in doubles, plus a silver medal in doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, all with Shnaider as her partner.

The win will move Andreeva up one spot to No. 7 in the PIF WTA Rankings, passing Jasmine Paolini.

For Mboko, the loss marks her first in a WTA final after winning her first two. Still, it was a productive week for the young Canadian star, who will rise to a career-high No. 16 ahead of her Australian Open debut on Monday, where she’ll face another teen in Australia’s Emerson Jones.

Her health will be something to monitor, though. She took a medical timeout midway through the second set and admitted afterward she wasn’t at full strength.

“Well, first of all, I want to thank everyone who came to watch today,” Mboko said during the trophy presentation. “Sorry I couldn’t be 100%, but I want to give a huge congrats to Mirra for playing incredible tennis today and her team, of course, too. So thank you.”

Andreeva will also open her Australian Open campaign on Monday, facing Donna Vekic. She has reached the fourth round each of the past two years.

Siniakova, Zhang win Adelaide doubles title

Katerina Siniakova and Zhang Shuai secured the doubles title in South Australia with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Desirae Krawczyk and Lyudmyla Kichenok on Friday.

Siniakova and Zhang converted 6-of-7 break point opportunities as Siniakova, the top doubles player in PIF WTA Rankings, started her season on a high note. The victory marks Siniakova's 33rd WTA doubles title, good for third most among active players behind Sara Errani and Hsieh Su-wei.

She's won each of her last four titles with different partners.

For Zhang, it's her 16th WTA doubles title.

Click here to read article