Indian Wells, March 15 (AP) Russian teen star Mirra Andreeva advanced to the BNP Paribas Open final, beating defending champion Iga Swiatek 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-3 in chilly conditions on Saturday to become the tournament’s youngest finalist since 2001.
The 17-year-old Andreeva, seeded ninth, will face top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Sabalenka routed fifth-seeded Madison Keys 6-0, 6-1 in 51 minutes in the second semifinal.
“I don’t know why I felt so much confidence. I felt like, `I’m going to go and play the tiebreak like it’s the last tiebreak of my life,’” Andreeva said. “So I just went for all my shots. My serve was great, just felt super comfortable and super confident.”
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Andreeva and Swiatek both finished the match wearing pullovers, with the temperature dipping into the 50s in the final set. It was in the mid-50s when Sabalenka finished off Keys.
Andreeva ran her tour winning streak to 11 matches and ended Swiatek’s 10-match run in the California desert The Russian won her first WTA Tour title last month in Dubai to become the youngest player to win a WTA 1000 event.
Kim Clijsters also was 17 in 2001 when she lost to Serena Williams in the final.
Swiatek, also the 2002 Indian Wells champion, was seeded second.
Sabalenka ended Keys’ 16-match winning streak and got some revenge for her loss to the American in the Australian Open cfinal. Keys beat Sabalenka in three sets in January at Melbourne Park, denying Sabalenka a third consecutive title.
“I didn’t expect this match to be that fast,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super happy with the way I played today – much-needed revenge.”
On Saturday in the men’s semifinals, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz — the No. 2 seed — will face 13th-seeded Jack Draper, and fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev will play No. 12 Holger Rune.
