Mirra Andreeva maintained her winning ways in her first match since becoming a Top 10 player, edging past Varvara Gracheva, 7-5, 6-4 to win a seventh straight match and advance at the BNP Paribas Open.
Fresh off winning the biggest title of her career at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the 17-year-old No. 9 seed nearly squandered a 5-1 lead in the first set and rallied from an 0-4 deficit in the second to win in one hour and 44 minutes on Court 2.
The win books her a Dubai final rematch with Clara Tauson, who edged into the third round over Naomi Osaka’s conqueror Camila Osorio earlier on Friday.
Andreeva ended the Middle East Swing with a breakthrough week in Dubai, scoring back-to-back wins over Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina en route to her first WTA 1000 title, heading to Indian Wells for only the second time in her young career.
Losing in the first round in her 2024 debut, the teenager was already guaranteed a career-best finish in the California desert thanks to an opening-round bye, but clearly aspires to another deep run despite a frustrating evening on court against Gracheva.
Andreeva appeared on course for a quick win as she kicked off Day 3’s evening session on the second-biggest court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, but quickly lost four straight games after taking a big lead in the opening set.
She shook off the hiccup to ultimately take the set in under an hour, but found herself at an even bigger deficit when Gracheva, a Top 40 player as recently as last year, raced out to a double-break advantage in the second.
With coach Conchita Martinez urging her on her frustrated charge from the stands, Andreeva ignited another massive momentum swing as she peeled off the next five games from Gracheva, giving herself a chance to serve for the match.
Visibly irritated even with the finish line in sight, Andreeva, who opened up about working with a sports psychologist to address her perfectionism, ultimately served out the win in just under two hours.
Awaiting her in the third round is No. 22 seeded Tauson in what will be a rematch of the Dubai final Andreeva won less than a month ago.