By Lidia Kelly
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Teenager Mirra Andreeva will do well to get past defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday but still believes it is only a matter of time before she breaks into the top 10 in world.
The 17-year-old world number 15, the only teenager left in women’s draw and the only one in the top 100, is seen by some as a dark horse in the title race at the year’s first Grand Slam.
The lack of young pretenders in the women’s draw is a stark contrast to the men’s field, where a trio of teenagers made their Grand Slam debuts and took out top 10 seeds in the first week.
Andreeva arrived in Melbourne on the back of a strong 2024 season in which she reached the semi-finals of the French Open, stunning Sabalenka along the way.
Regardless of whether she can repeat the feat against the world number one on Sunday, Andreeva is happy to take on the weight of expectation and confident of the upward trajectory of her career.
“When everyone is saying that, ‘Okay, she’s going to be top 10, she’s going to be the first one who will enter the top 10 from younger players,’ I feel like, okay, well, I’m just going to try to do so,” Andreeva told reporters on Friday.
“I’m sure that it’s a matter of time until I’m in top 10.”
Andreeva, who has a 1-3 record against 26-year-old Sabalenka, said she would try to keep her opponent guessing.
“My style of play is built on playing smart with a bit of cunning,” Andreeva told Reuters when asked about the match-up with the Australian and U.S. Open champion.
“I do not always use strong shots, that is, I try to change the rhythm a lot and mix up my shots in general.”
The superstitious teenager said she was not going to prepare any differently for Sunday’s match.
“There is a routine and I will stick to it until the end of the tournament,” Andreeva said.
“Chicken with rice, every day, and with cheese, so nothing changes here.”
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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