Andreeva steels for Anisimova rematch in Dubai quarters
Defending champion Mirra Andreeva shakes off a shaky start to set up a tense quarterfinal against Amanda Anisimova at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where past defeats and fresh momentum collide on fast hard courts.
In the heat of a Dubai evening, Mirra Andreeva finally tasted competition after days of waiting, her title defense at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships roaring to life in the third round. The 18-year-old Russian, last year’s winner here, faced Jaqueline Cristian in a match that cracked with 13 breaks of serve, her returns slicing crosscourt to seize control even as her serve wobbled. Now, she lines up against No. 2 seed Amanda Anisimova on Thursday, a rematch carrying the sting of an 11-month-old loss in Miami.
Andreeva’s path cleared unusually early with a first-round bye and a second-round walkover when Daria Kasatkina withdrew injured, mirroring Anisimova’s route after Barbora Krejcikova pulled out. Both arrived rusty from Doha last week, where Anisimova retired ill against Karolina Pliskova in the second round and Andreeva dropped match point to Victoria Mboko in the third. Anisimova dispatched wildcard Janice Tjen 6-1, 6-3 in 70 minutes, her flat backhand carving inside-in winners while saving three break points to close the first set.
“Honestly, I feel my game was really far from perfect today,” she said in her on-court interview. “I’m just happy I could walk away from the court as a winner. It was really tough to play here today, I really struggled with conditions. I’m just trying to force myself to hit the ball. I was tense, I was nervous, I cared a lot about every single point that I was playing and sometimes I was really scared to miss. Inside of myself, I was saying, ‘Mirra, you just have to dig deep and force yourself to hit the ball, otherwise she’s going to take advantage of it and she’s just going to go for her shots.'”
Nerves disrupt the champion’s rhythm
Andreeva’s duel with Cristian pulsed with tension, her aggressive returns forcing breaks but her serve betraying her with seven double faults and 31 unforced errors overall. Three of those doubles came at 5-4 in the first set, handing back a lead she had built through deep down-the-line forehands. Yet she regrouped, locking in with heavy topspin to edge 7-5 before pulling away 6-3, as Cristian netted a drive volley at 3-3 in the second and followed with back-to-back backhand errors on break point.
The walkover from Kasatkina threw off Andreeva’s flow, denying her the early reps that build confidence on these outdoor hard courts, where the medium pace rewards bold baseline exchanges. This marks her first tournament as defending champion, a role that amplified her motivation amid the photos of past winners lining the path to Center Court. She admitted the nerves caught her off guard, especially against Cristian, who had already played three sets in Dubai and pressed with underspin slices to vary the tempo.
Anisimova’s win carried its own edges, her straight-sets efficiency masking moments of hesitation, like failing to serve out the match at her first chance. Fresh from illness in Doha, she leaned on precise crosscourt angles to overwhelm Tjen, but the delayed start left both players adapting to the skidding balls and evening warmth. For the full tournament pulse, track the Scores, Draws, and Order of play.
Notebook sharpens focus amid chaos
After failing to close the first set, Andreeva turned to her notebook—that viral tool from Indian Wells last year, packed with opponent notes and personal cues. She reminded herself of prior breaks, refocusing on serve placement and aggressive patterns to break twice more and seal the set at 7-5. This mental anchor helped her push through the fluctuations, turning inner doubt into steady groundstrokes that pinned Cristian back.
The device isn’t new; it echoes a similar walkover in Montreal last year, where another early bye led to a third-round loss against McCartney Kessler. Here, though, embracing her champion status sparked extra drive, transforming the disrupted schedule into fuel for late-set surges. Cristian’s steadier match count showed in her 1–2 combinations, but Andreeva’s return depth forced errors, highlighting her growth under pressure.
Anisimova’s style contrasts sharply, her flat shots thriving on these courts’ true bounce, much like in Miami where she snapped Andreeva’s 13-match streak with a 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-3 win. That third-round thriller saw the American clutch the tiebreak and steady the decider, exploiting second serves with deep returns. Andreeva has evolved since, adding slice backhands to slow rallies and set up inside-out forehands, tactics she tested against Cristian to regain rhythm.
Revenge ignites the quarterfinal clash
Looking ahead, Andreeva brushes off service concerns, expecting sharper play now that she’s logged a match. “Tomorrow is probably going to be better, because I’m going to get into the rhythm,” she said. “I’m looking forward to getting that revenge!”
Their head-to-head tilts to Anisimova from that single meeting, but Dubai’s grippier surface could favor Andreeva’s topspin, looping balls high to disrupt the American’s flat pace. Anisimova’s power suits quick points, her one–two serve-forehand rushing opponents, yet Andreeva’s returns could extend exchanges into attrition. With rankings on the line—Andreeva defending 1000 points for her top-10 bid, Anisimova chasing a deep run—the stakes blend tactical chess with personal fire.
As Thursday’s sun dips, expect Andreeva to target backhands with crosscourt pressure, forcing Anisimova into defensive lobs, while the seed counters with inside-in winners to stretch the court. Both shed initial hesitations from byes and Doha setbacks, channeling them into a showdown where adaptability decides. On these hard courts, where every skid tests resolve, the teenager’s resilience meets the veteran’s poise, promising a quarterfinal that builds on hard-won starts.
