Mirra Andreeva: Dubai victory makes Russian youngest WTA 1000 winner

Mirra Andreeva made history by becoming the youngest player to claim a WTA 1000 title after the 17-year-old won the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The Russian beat Clara Tauson 7-6 (7-1) 6-1 and her victory means she will next week climb into the top 10 for the first time.

Andreeva defeated Grand Slam winners Marketa Vondrousova, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina on her way to the final.

“I’d set a goal for myself to be in top 10 by the end of the year,” she said.

“Now it’s the end of February and I’ve already made it, so this is something incredible for me.”

Denmark’s Tauson, 22, had gone 2-0 up early on but Andreeva soon settled into her game to break back and level the match at 2-2.

There was little to separate the two as the first set went to a tiebreak, where Andreeva won the first six points before Tauson sent a return long.

Andreeva then dominated the second set, breezing into a 5-1 lead before world number 38 Tauson’s return went long again to seal the title for the teenager.

“I’m just super happy with the way I was playing,” added Andreeva. “I was nervous. I think you could see it during the match with all those double faults, some mistakes.

“So I’m just really happy that I could manage and deal with the pressure. And now it just feels amazing.

“This is something I dreamt of and now my dream came true so I’m just, I’m speechless right now.”