"Well done Mirra": Boris Becker praises Mirra Andreeva after impressive run in Duabi

Former world number one Boris Beckers has some words of praise for Russia’s young tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva after her heroics in Dubai. The 17-year-old, who is already regarded as the one for the future, cemented her spot in the last two of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after beating tournament favourite Elena Rybakina in the semifinal with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Former world number one Becker, in a post on the social media platform X—previously known as Twitter—had some words to praise the youngster ahead of the big day. "Never underestimate 17 years old players... Well done Mirra!" he wrote.

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. This is not the first time that the Krasnoyarsk-born young star has produced some incredible performances this season. Earlier this year in the Brisbane International, she went all the way to the semifinal after beating three-time Grand Slam runner-up Ons Jabeur in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-6. She eventually lost to world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the last-four in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2. 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.

Talking after the contest, Andreeva stated that she is ecstatic after cementing her place in the final, especially after a disappointing outing in Doha before coming to Dubai. “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."