An enticing
duel unfolded between the 3-times Grand Slam finalist
Ons Jabeur (No. 6) and
the 16-year-old young star
Mirra Andreeva (No. 47). The Russian claimed an
imposing victory with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-2, advancing to the third round of
the 2024
Australian Open and eliminating one of the top seeds early on.
Andreeva
kicked off the season at the Brisbane International with three convincing
victories, including a win against the 4th seed Lidumila Samsonova (No. 14),
but fell in the quarterfinals to Linda Noskova (No. 50). In the first round,
she had little trouble overcoming Bernarda Pera (No. 71) with a score of 7-5,
6-2.
Jabeur
didn't play any official matches before the Aussie Open and defeated Ukrainian
Yulia Starodubtseva, who had come through the qualifiers, with a score of 6-3,
6-1.
The Russian
started the match at a high level, taking only 20 minutes to claim the first
set. Andreeva had a commanding start, both in serving and returning. The
16-year-old had an 81% first serve and won 85% of them, while Jabeur managed
only a 50% first serve, winning 38% of them.
Jabeur
tried to move her opponent in rallies to prevent her from hitting comfortably,
but the Russian was impeccable in her returns, leading to frustration for her
rival. The former world No. 2 committed 10 unforced errors compared to
Andreeva's three.
Andreeva
took a toilet break between sets, and Jabeur had a lengthy conversation with
her coach in search of changes. Upon their return to the court, Jabeur started
by winning her first game of the match with her serve. Nevertheless, Andreeva
once again had no issues with her service and then secured another break,
giving her a 2-1 advantage.
Jabeur had
her first break point in the fourth game of the set, but she couldn't convert
it either. Andreeva dominated until the end of the match, and Jabeur could only
salvage one more game with her serve. The Russian closed out the match with an
impressive 6-0, 6-2 scoreline and awaits the winner between Russian Kamila
Rakhimova (No. 90) and young Frenchwoman Diane Parry (No. 72) in the third
round.
