Madrid Open: Mirra Andreeva Reaches First Final After Defeating Hailey Baptiste Teenager Mirra Andreeva, who celebrated her 19th birthday on Wednesday, advanced to her first Madrid Open final with a hard-fought 6-4 7-6 (10-8) victory over 30th-seeded American Hailey Baptiste. The Russian player, who has already claimed titles in Dubai and Indian Wells at the WTA 1,000 level last year, will face 26th-seeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in Saturday’s final. Kostyuk, a 23-year-old making her first WTA 1000 final, defeated top-20 player Anastasia Potapova in a three-set match that saw Potapova, the 10th seed, fall to a 6-2 1-6 6-1 deficit. Andreeva’s path to the final was marked by resilience. After taking the first set, she served for the match at 5-4 but was broken by Baptiste, who then forced the tiebreak in the second set. Baptiste, who had previously defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round, saved three set points before Andreeva clinched the match. The 19-year-old described her emotions as a mix of adrenaline and nerves, stating, “I feel so much adrenaline inside. I feel like I'm still nervous. I'm just so happy that I won and that I was able to save all those set points.” She also credited her serve, saying, “The serve helped me a lot. I'm so, so happy— I cannot really find ways to describe what I'm feeling right now.” Andreeva’s achievement places her as the second-youngest finalist in Madrid Open history, following Caroline Wozniacki. The 19-year-old has now reached three WTA 1,000 finals, becoming the first teenager to accomplish this feat. Her clay-court success this season includes a title in Linz and a semi-final appearance in Stuttgart, with a record of 12 wins and one loss in 13 matches on the surface. Kostyuk’s journey to the final was equally dramatic.#casper_ruud #mirra_andreeva #hailey_baptiste #marta_kostyuk #caroline_wozniacki
