Amanda Anisimova defeated Mirra Andreeva in a thrilling match at the Miami Open on Sunday night, ending Andreeva`s 13-game winning streak. The score was 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-3.
In a very exciting game between two top players this season, Anisimova, seeded No. 17, fought hard for 2 hours and 49 minutes to win against Andreeva, who is ranked No. 6 in the world. This victory is Anisimova`s 10th win against a Top 10 player in her career.
Here are the main points from this exciting match in Miami:
A Battle of WTA 1000 Champions: This third-round match was special because it was between the only two players who have won WTA 1000 titles this season. Anisimova won the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha earlier this year, even though she was not seeded.
After that, Andreeva was very successful in the next two WTA 1000 events, winning in Dubai and Indian Wells one after the other. The 17-year-old Andreeva was hoping to become the first teenager to win the Sunshine Double, a title for winning both Indian Wells and Miami Open.
However, Anisimova played well, reminding everyone of her form in Doha, and managed to stop Andreeva`s momentum in Miami. Anisimova, who is currently ranked at her highest career ranking of No. 17, has reached the Round of 16 at her home tournament for the first time.
Winning Break Points, Winning the Match: The match on Sunday was very close from the beginning. Andreeva was serving to win the first set at 5-4, but Anisimova broke her serve and then won the set in a tiebreak. Andreeva came back strong and easily won the second set.
In the third set, Andreeva had two chances to break Anisimova`s serve and take a 2-0 lead, but Anisimova played aggressively, serving strongly and hitting a winning overhead shot to save those break points and tie the game at 1-1.
This was important because in the next game, Anisimova played powerfully, getting to 0-40 and breaking Andreeva`s serve to take a 2-1 lead. This break of serve turned out to be the crucial point in the final set.
Andreeva had two more break points in Anisimova`s next service game, but again, Anisimova hit two very strong shots to save them – a backhand crosscourt winner and a forehand winner.
Anisimova kept her lead and won the match. Both players broke serve four times in the match, but Anisimova was more effective in taking her chances (4 out of 9 break points converted compared to Andreeva`s 4 out of 16) and played exceptionally well to save all four break points she faced in the final set.
Raducanu Awaits: Anisimova will now play against Emma Raducanu, who is also playing very well, for a place in the quarterfinals. Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, advanced to this round after McCartney Kessler had to retire due to injury in their third-round match.
Raducanu, who used to be ranked No. 10 in the world, is playing strongly in Miami. This includes a win against Emma Navarro, a Top 10 player, in the second round. This week is the first time Raducanu has won three matches in a row at a WTA Tour or Grand Slam event since Wimbledon last year.
Anisimova and Raducanu played against each other earlier this year, where Raducanu won 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of the Australian Open.
More updates to follow…
Rupert Caldwell