Mirra Andreeva came to Melbourne after winning the tournament in Adelaide, where she defeated Victoria Mboko in the final. However, in the first round of the Australian Open, the Russian had problems. She needed three sets to eliminate Donna Vekić (4:6, 6:3, 6:0). Maria Sakkari, in turn, defeated Leolia Jeanjean without any major problems (6:4, 6:2). The first set of Wednesday’s match took an unexpected course.
Andreeva was destroyed by Sakkari. The Greek did not send a winner!
Andreeva dominated Sakkari from the very beginning. Already in the first game, the Russian had a break on her account, using the third break point. Later, she added another two games, including one on the Greek’s serve, winning it to zero. With the score 3-0, we saw Sakkari completely lost. At that moment, she was a tennis player who could not send a single winner.
And what’s amazing – it didn’t change until the end of the set. Andreeva was pushing, and her opponent was completely unable to find her way on the court. The Russian won the game 6-0, and Sakkari finished it with a balance of 0 winners and 13 unforced errors. The viewers must have been astonished to see such a one-sided spectacle.
At the beginning of the second set, it seemed that nothing would change. Andreeva again broke her opponent in the opening and then defended her own pass.
Madness in the stands. Sakkari woke up when she least expected it
Then there was a twist. The stands started supporting Sakkari more, and she started playing like a changed person. A website has appeared that makes life difficult for a Russian woman. Finally, we had longer rallies, and what is important, the Greek made few mistakes. She could hit forehand shots very well. Some of the blows were so powerful that Andreeva was unable to respond to them.
How Sakkari suddenly gained momentum is shown by the fact that from 0:2 in the second set she took a 3:2 lead. Andreeva had the audience against her. After all, plenty of Greeks were watching this match, and impartial fans wanted the spectacle to last as long as possible.
At 4-4, Sakkari got herself into trouble. The nightmares from the opening set returned and after missing shots, her opponent had two break points. Andreeva used the first one and took the lead 5:4. She had an open path to victory, and yet a few minutes earlier it seemed that the Greek had calmed down the game enough that there would still be a lot of emotions ahead.
Andreeva made two unforced errors in the tenth game, but this did not prevent her from sealing the victory. The Russian advanced to the third round of the Australian Open.
Mirra Andriejewa – Mary Spirit 6:5, 6:4
