Magic and character: Andreeva beat Pegula and reached the final of the WTA Finals

The match between Mirra Andreeva and Jessica Pegula was the main event of the tournament even before it began. At one of the training sessions before the WTA Final tournament, the American did not like the behavior of the Russian woman, which gave rise to rumors about a serious conflict between two young girls. However, the parties quickly reconciled, and Pegula even recognized the huge talent of her rival. “She is amazing, she has the perfect pitch. She moves like a cat, is intelligent and foresees the game very well.”.

On the court, this story had a logical conclusion. The match was tense, but Andreeva showed stability and composure. In both sets, she gave her serve first, but immediately scratched the backbreak and gradually established control of the game. Mirra’s fighting character in the second game was especially vivid: losing 1: 3, the Russian won four games in a row, including the decisive break with the score 4: 3. Her lashes just under the back line kept Pegula on edge, forcing the American to make mistakes at key moments, as happened at match point.

Andreeva’s tactical superiority was also reflected in her unique ability to carry out rounds and dominate from the back line through strength and depth. The American was often completely unprepared for the unexpected directions of attacks of the Russian woman. At the same time, Mirra showed excellent physical readiness, which was a key factor against the background of the general fatigue of the participants by the end of a long season. She gave the opponent only 7 games in the semifinals, and in the group stage in three matches gave only 11 games, repeating the historical record of Justine Henen.

This victory is of historical significance not only for Russian, but also for world tennis. Andreeva became the youngest finalist of the WTA Finals since 2004, when Maria Sharapova achieved similar phenomenal success at the age of 17. This season, she reached the sixth final, which is the absolute maximum for tennis players under 20 years old since 2009, when Caroline Wozniacki reached eight finals. In addition, this result mathematically guaranteed her ascent to second place in the updated WTA ranking.

In the decisive match of the tournament, Andreeva will meet with Elina Svitolina, who in the other semifinal confidently beat Linda Noskova with a score of 6: 2, 6: 1. For the Ukrainian tennis player, this will be the third exit to the final of the Final tournament, and in 2018 she won the championship title here. In the personal confrontation, Andreeva leads with a score of 2: 1, including a crushing victory of 6: 4, 6: 0 in the group stage.

Andreeva did not lose a single set in four matches of the Final tournament, demonstrating impeccable stability. The final match against Elina Svitolina will take place on Sunday on Indian Wells courts. The victory in this confrontation will allow the 19-year-old Russian not only to win the main trophy of the season with a prize fund of $ 10 million, but also to finally consolidate the status of the second racket of the world at the end of the year.