Russian teen Andreeva beats top seed Sabalenka to claim Indian Wells title

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva fought back to overcome world number one Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-4 6-3 in the Indian Wells final on March 16, winning a second WTA 1000-level event in a row to keep her charmed year on track.

The 17-year-old Andreeva, the youngest women’s champion at the tournament since Serena Williams in 1999, found her form midway through the match and crumpled to the ground in celebration after closing it out with a forehand winner.

Top seed Sabalenka pulled herself out of a slump to bring some of her best tennis to the California desert this year and got off to a hot start on Sunday but her form unravelled as the match wore on and she was left to rue missed opportunities.

“I would like to thank myself for fighting until the end and for always believing in me and for never quitting,” Andreeva said at the trophy ceremony.

“I was running like a rabbit today because Aryna, she’s been sending bullets and it was really hard to just keep up.”

Ninth seed Andreeva had lost to Sabalenka twice this year and it looked as though the pattern would continue as the top-seeded Belarusian mixed some nifty drop shots with her usual forehand power to save four break points in the third game.

Sabalenka sent a backhand winner down the line to break in the fourth game and four games later a visibly frustrated Andreeva whacked a ball into the stands after sending a shot into the net as the Russian was broken again.

Confidence boost

The teenager got a confidence boost in the second set, however, when she broke Sabalenka with a forehand winner in the third game and fended off two break points in the sixth.

After trading breaks to open the third set, Sabalenka’s