Teenager Mirra Andreeva opened up about her own ordeal with online threats and abuse in light of the recent troubles of Emma Raducanu.
Andreeva scored a major upset over No.2-ranked Iga Swiatek, who lost to a player younger than 18 for the first time on tour in the Dubai Championships quarter-finals.
The 17-year-old Andreeva won 6-3, 6-3 to become the youngest semi-finalist in Dubai’s 24-year history.
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Swiatek took their only previous match last August in Cincinnati, losing the first set and winning 7-5 in the third. She conceded the first again and was a break up in the second, but Andreeva reeled off the last five games.
“I was nervous before the match,” world No.14 Andreeva said. “I told myself I played great in our last match and I just need to keep playing aggressive.”
It’s her fifth win over a top-10 player and second over a No.2 — she beat Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open quarter finals last year.
Mirra Andreeva celebrates defeating Iga Swiatek. Getty
The Russian teenager will next face sixth-seeded Elena Rybakina, who beat Sofia Kenin 6-2, 7-6 (2) to improve to 3-0 against the American.
After the match Andreeva was asked about Raducanu’s distressing incident earlier in the tournament, when a “fixated” man was asked to leave, following previous contact with the British tennis star.
“I received a message that said: ‘Look around, because I’m going to find you and I’m going to cut your arms.’
“That is the one message that has stuck with me to this day.” She added, “After every loss, I think every player receives a barrage of hateful messages.”
Swiatek said her semi-final run at the Australian Open gave her less time to prepare for tournaments in the Middle East.
“I had the same kind of mindset as like every year. But the preparation for sure was different,” she said.
“Before, I lost in Australia early, so I had time to do some stuff. This year I didn’t. Honestly, I’m not that direct usually, but I would blame this performance on the lack of practice before because I didn’t have time.
“I’m not happy with the results. I feel like I underperformed. I need to talk with my team a bit and plan the next weeks a bit differently because I haven’t had much time to practice before these tournaments.”
