Mirra Andreeva reveals what she will not do ahead of Dubai Duty-Free Championships final

Russia’s Mirra Andreeva has revealed that she will not going to think about the result in the final of the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. The 17-year-old, who is already regarded as the one for the future, cemented her spot in the last-two after beating tournament favourite Elena Rybakina in the semifinal with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Talking ahead of the all-important encounter, Andreeva revealed that she will continue her preparation in the same manner as she used to. She stated that she would not like to think about results as without thinking about these things helped her go all the way in the competition.

"For now, I’m just trying not to think about that at all,” she said. “When I didn’t think about my results and about what’s going to happen, I reached the final, so if I start thinking about ‘what if I can, ‘what if I cannot’, ‘what if I’m able, what if I’m not able’, then those thoughts are going to kill me.”

That was not the only impressive result for Andreeva as she also defeated the former world number one Poland’s Iga Swiatek in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3. Her opponent will be Denmark’s Clara Tauson, who cemented her spot in the last two after beating Karolina Muchova with a score of 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. On her way to the final, the 22-year-old defeated the reigning world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the round of 16 with a score of 6-3, 6-2. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two in professional tennis.

Talking after the match against Rybakina, Andreeva revealed that she was ecstatic with the result. “Honestly, after playing in Doha and losing tough second round, having a lot of opportunities, I just felt a bit down," she said. "Not depressed. I was, 'Well, maybe now this time I'm not playing my best tennis, so OK, it's fine.' Last year I didn't play so good on these courts in Dubai. I was like, 'Well, OK, whatever. I'm just going to play. We're going to see. In the end when you don't think about what's going to happen, it always ends up being one of the best tournaments of your career. I don't know if it's a paradox or something, but it's just like this."