From the deserts of Arabia to the Californians, the uproar of Mirra Andreeva continues. This extraordinary 17 -year -old girl from Siberia last night defeated NO1 world number Aryna Sabalenka to win the biggest title of her career in Indian Wells.
Now he has won a dozen games in a row after taking the title in Dubai last month and the New World No6 is on an express train at the top of the game. Sabalenka won the first set, but Andreeva was irresistible thereafter, arriving 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Andreeva's titles in Dubai and Indian Wells sit at the 1,000 level just below the Grand Slams. She cut a strip through the most important names in sport this fortnight, surpassing Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, Iga Swiatk and now Sabalenka.
Andreeva requires at least one Grand Slam title before it can be considered with Swiatek and Sabalenka as the best players in the world, but that will surely come. He made the semifinals at the France Open last year and their mastery of the slices and shots of both wings suggest that it will become a fine grass player.
Only Serena Williams and Martina Hingis have won this title at an earlier age and it would be a surprise if Andreeva does not join those two as an important serial champion.
There are simply no holes in your game. His tennis idol is Andy Murray and there are much of the Scots in their style: aggressive returns, miraculous defensive skills and a domain of the fall shot.
Mirra Andreeva, 17, won the Indian wells by knocking down the world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka won the first set before Andreeva climbed from behind, reaching 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
The double hand of Andreeva is already the best in the world and a certain distance. The service and the right are solid and will improve even more, under the expert guide of the 1994 Wimbledon champion, Conchita MartÃnez.
But it is among the ears where Andreeva's true greatness lives. She has a serenity in the heat of the battle and an innate domain of the geometry of a tennis court.
Sabalenkka entered the final after having demanded what he had no problem describing as 'revenge' against Madison Keys in the semifinals, crushing the woman who had denied a third direct title of the Australian Open.
And while charging the opening set, it seemed that its brutal power and constant expansion skills would be too much for the teenager.
But Andreeva was sublime in the second and third sets. Sabalenka was still landing some colossal blows, but the ball was still returning, either shipyard and short or deep and deep.
As he did in Dubai, Andreeva finished the speech of her winners with a little self -love. “Last but not least, I would like to thank me for fighting and always believing in me and never quitting smoking,” he said. “I had to run like a rabbit today because Aryna was sending bullets.”
If someone could dodge the bullets, it would be this extraordinary teenager. A last word about MartÃnez, twice a finalist as a player in Indian Wells and now a champion finally. What work is doing and what wonderful relationship is Andreeva developing.
“Conchita,” Andreeva said, addressing his coach in court, “I know I can be hard and today it was no exception. He was, as you like to say, a little brat this morning, I'm very sorry for that. Thank you for being by my side.