18-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the final of the WTA 500 tournament in Adelaide! In the semi-finals, the best Russian tennis player beat 21-year-old compatriot Diana Schneider. As Andreeva admitted, a very strange tactic helped her win – calling her opponent by a different name.

Walk through the tournament bracket

Mirra Andreeva (3rd seed) started the tournament straight from the second round, where she easily beat the representative of the Czech Republic, Maria Bouzkova, in two sets – 6:3, 6:1. Then she faced a serious test: the quarter-finals with the best tennis player in Australia, Maya Joynt. The fans actively supported their compatriot, but this did not help the local athlete: Joint won only two games. Despite the confident victory, Andreeva admitted that the match was tense for her.

“I knew it would be difficult to play against her, especially here with the support of the home crowd, so I was expecting a very difficult match.” And to be honest, I had to stay focused until the very last play. She played a great match, performed very well, and I’m just incredibly happy about today’s victory,” Andreeva said after the match.

Then the semi-finals and the Russian derby – Andreeva against Diana Schneider. For Schneider, the tournament bracket and the path to this meeting were longer by one match. In the first round, Diana beat the Canadian tennis player Leila Fernandez with some difficulty – 7:5, 6:3, then in a tense match she beat the representative of the Czech Republic Katerina Sinyakova – 6:1, 2:6, 7:5. In the quarterfinals, Schneider was stronger than American Emma Navarro – 6:3, 6:3. It should be noted that Diana had very serious opposition on her way to the semifinals.

Mirra Andreeva / Photo: © Robert Prange / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

But before the start of the semi-finals, for many experts it was Andreeva who was the favorite. Firstly, Diana is just gaining momentum and trying to get back to her best form. Secondly, Mirra confidently beat her compatriot in the only head-to-head meeting, which took place two years ago in the first round at a tournament in Brisbane.

“Never mind, I’m weird”

Additional interest in the match was fueled not only by the status of the hidden final, but also by the relationships between the athletes. Most recently, they decided not to perform as a duet anymore. And this is not about sports results, because together they won silver medals at the 2024 Olympics, and last year they took two titles. There were even rumors that the girls had a conflict. However, most fans did not believe this version, deciding that Andreeva simply decided to concentrate on singles. In any case, the meeting in the semi-finals promised to be hot.

And the first set was indeed a tense struggle. Schneider took the first game, after which the swing began until the score became 3:3. Then Mirra seized the initiative and won the first game. Considering that Andreeva had problems at the very beginning of the match, it seemed that Diana would be able to please the audience with intrigue.

Mirra Andreeva / Photo: © Sarah Reed / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The second set also began with an equal fight, however, this time Mirra quickly managed to take control of the game. With the score 2:2, Schneider abruptly switched out of the fight and was no longer able to take a single game. Andreeva calmly brought the matter to the final victory – 6:3, 6:2. The match lasted 1 hour 24 minutes. Many fans noted that the meeting was more like a friendly, although access to the final depended on its result.

And after the victory, Mirra indirectly confirmed that she had no conflicts with her compatriot. She praised her opponent for her vigorous start and noted that it was difficult for her to play against her friend.

— As I already said, before the meeting I was very nervous. On the court I tried to imagine that I was playing against some Needy Schnuper. It’s a made-up name, never mind, I’m weird (laughs). We know each other very well, we play a lot of tournaments together, so it was difficult. But it turned out to be a great match, I’m very pleased with my level of play,” Andreeva said on the court after the semi-final match.

Mirra reached the final of the tournament, where she will meet 19-year-old Canadian representative Victoria Mboko.