The Wimbledon quarterfinalist upsets top talent Mirra Andrejewa – and is now among the top 16.
Laura Siegemund caused a surprise at the WTA tournament in Wuhan, China, reaching the round of 16. The 37-year-old from Metzingen defeated world number five Mirra Andrejewa 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3 after a hard-fought battle – and had her emotions much better under control than the young Russian (18), who repeatedly burst into tears. “I’m just happy. I didn’t think I would survive in these conditions,“ Siegemund said with a laugh, referring to the hot and humid weather: ”I’m glad I stayed focused and played solidly.” Siegemund is the only German player competing in the highly competitive 1000-point tournament in the metropolis of eight million. The Swabian, who took her second match point to win after 3:01 hours of play, will now face Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic or Magdalena Frech of Poland in the round of 16.
Siegemund strong at the net
Wimbledon quarterfinalist Siegemund started strongly against the favored Andrejewa and put pressure on the 18-year-old with her varied play. The Swabian held her own from the baseline with good length and moved up to the net whenever the opportunity arose.
At the end of the first set, Andreeva was visibly frustrated with her game, hitting her racket on the ground more often and repeatedly bursting into tears – yet the top talent secured the set in the tiebreak.
Siegemund, however, remained unfazed. The world number 57 played offensively, benefiting from numerous double faults by Andreeva, who was struggling with her emotions, and deservedly took the second set. In the third set, the completely frustrated Andreeva’s will was finally broken, and Siegemund stormed to victory.