Inspired by LeBron James and Roger Federer, Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva wrapped up a fairytale week in Dubai by becoming the youngest ever WTA 1000 champion with victory over Clara Tauson on Saturday.
After ousting three Grand Slam winners, including second-seeded Iga Swiatek, en route to the final, the 17-year-old Andreeva ended Tauson’s own dream run at the tournament with a 7-6(1), 6-1 result against the Dane.
It was a performance that didn’t just earn Andreeva a maiden WTA 1000 trophy, but it also secured her top-10 debut with the Russian expected to rise to number nine when the new rankings are released on Monday.
Andreeva admitted she did not feel her best on court during the final, but drew inspiration from interviews she watched of NBA legend James talking about how champions can find ways to win even without their A-game.
“I just told myself, ‘You can either let that negativity come into your head and kill you, or you can choose to be 100 per cent mentally and fight for every point and if something doesn’t go your way, well okay fine, you forget about it and you play one point at a time’,” said Andreeva.
“I’ve been listening to a lot of LeBron James interviews, and he said that, ‘It’s easy to be confident and to play good when everything goes your way, but what makes you a champion is when you’re giving your best when you don’t feel great’. So that’s what I tried to do today.”
Andreeva also revealed she has been watching highlights from Roger Federer’s 2017 Australian Open final victory over Rafael Nadal before her matches this week, taking cues from the Swiss great.
“I was watching some highlights. I was like, Damn, how can he play like this? This is something extraordinary,” she said.
Tauson has been a giant-slayer herself this week, knocking out world number one Aryna Sabalenka on her way to the biggest final of her career.
The 22-year-old entered the clash with Andreeva leading the tour with 15 match-wins so far this season.
She was looking to add a second title to her tally in 2025, and fourth overall, but Andreeva had other ideas, as she overcame her big-hitting opponent with one hour and 46 minutes of all-court prowess.
In the youngest WTA 1000 final since the category was introduced in 2009, Andreeva played a near-perfect opening-set tiebreak to take the lead after 60 minutes of play.
She upped the ante in the second set, breaking twice for a 5-1 advantage and served out the win at the first time of asking.
On Monday, Andreeva will become the first 17-year-old to be ranked in the top 10 since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007.
During the trophy ceremony, Andreeva congratulated Tauson and thanked her coach Conchita Martinez and her family for their support. The affable teenager then surprised the crowd by paying credit to herself.
“Last but not least, I would like to thank me. I know what I have been dealing with so I want to thank me for always believing in me, I want to thank me for never quitting and always dealing with the pressure,” said Andreeva. “Today it was not easy but I chose to be there 100 percent, so I thank myself for that.”
Besides the 1,000 ranking points she received for winning the Dubai crown, Andreeva pocketed $597,000 in prize money, which she says she will hand over to her father, given she is still 17 and doesn’t manage her own finances.
The Russian had set a goal for herself before the start of the season to finish the year ranked in the top 10 – a target she has now checked off her list in just the second month of her campaign.
“I don't even know what I want. Now I think about it and I feel like I have everything I ever wanted. I won the tournament. I've already reached my goal that I've set for myself by the end of the year. My family is traveling with me. I have a great team. I don't know what else I need. I feel happy and I feel this is all I need,” she said.
On her part, Tauson confessed she ran out of steam at the end of a taxing week, and revealed she had been spending almost three hours each day with the tournament physios to deal with various physical issues.
“I can't tell you where it doesn't hurt right now, so... I definitely need some days off,” concluded the 22-year-old Dane.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs
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The biog
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Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
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Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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The specs
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
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