WHAT HAPPENED: Mirra Andreeva was on the struggle subway in her first-round US Open match against Australian Olivia Gadecki, trailing a set and 2-0, and looking for all the world like her next stop was going to be a frustrating and early exit from Flushing Meadows.
She simply decided to not get off at that stop. Andreeva rebounded from a sluggish early start to make her way to the second round, disposing of Gadecki 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in an evening match on Court 8.
The progress that Andreeva is showing in her first half year on the tour is nothing short of remarkable. She was ranked No. 63 coming into the US Open, coming off a third round at Roland Garros and a fourth round at Wimbledon, which saw her oust former Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova and had Madison Keys on the ropes in the fourth round before falling in three sets.
Last year as a junior, Andreeva lost in the Round of 16 to top-seeded Sophia Costoulas of Beligum, but a year later, comes into the final Slam event of the year with an outsider buzz on her name. She looked far from that though in the first 30 minutes of her match with the Australian qualifier Gadecki, the No. 139-ranked player on the WTA Tour.
Andreeva was broken in her first two service games, and it’s not like her return game was that much better. She was down 5-0 in the blink of an eye, before a bagel-saving service game got her on the board. Gadecki closed out the first set 6-1 on an Andreeva forehand error. Gadecki played a
“I was just trying to spend more time on the court,” said Andreeva, after a 27-minute opening set. “I was struggling. I didn’t know what to do, but also she was just playing amazing. I was just trying to stay and play … and see what could happen.”
The lackluster trend continued for Andreeva early in the second. She was pouting expressively after easy groundstroke misses and a swift break of serve and a quick Gadecki hold, saw Andreeva’s deficit balloon to a set and 2-0.
But from that instant, Andreeva came alive. She cleaned up her play when it mattered most, and reeled off five straight games, leaving Gadecki in the dust in the second set, closing it out on serve 6-3.
The third set was a scratchy start for both, as three straight service breaks marked the play, but two by Andreeva paced her to a 2-1 lead. A clutch hold to 3-1 by Andreeva gave her the necessary room to breathe again, and she closed out Gadecki 6-4.
Andreeva’s post-match stat sheet wasn’t impressive, only 13 winners to 28 unforced errors, compared to 35 winners and 45 errors for Gadecki. But the untold score between the lines was Andreeva’s sticktoitiveness.
“She’s a great player,” said Gadecki. “I mean 16, so young but yet quite experienced. I think she’s sort of got that on me, just a bit more experience in these kinds of situations. She played really well, hung in there today and that’s what a great player does.”
WHAT IT MEANS: The 16-year-old sensation will next face Coco Gauff, who had her own struggle against Laura Siegemund in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night, in what promises to be a tantalizing matchup of teen stars widely-regarded as the faces of the sport for the next decade. It’s also a rematch of their third-round encounter from Roland Garros just three months ago, a match which Gauff won 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1.
MATCH POINT: The Andreeva-Gauff second-round match will sure to be a popcorn match, and Andreeva is hoping for a top billing-type showcase on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I’m pretty excited about this match,” said Andreeva of her second match already with Gauff in just the three Slams she’s appeared in. “I hope it's going to be on Arthur Ashe Stadium. If we play there, I’ll be super excited to play her on the biggest court. Maybe if we play there, I can get some revenge (from Roland Garros).”
