Mirra Andreeva is out with a bang from her BNP Paribas Open title defense. After losing a tough 4-6 7-6(5) 6-3 third-round battle to Katerina Siniakova, the 18-year-old shouted “f*** you all” toward the crowd as she walked off court.
Andreeva after angry reaction: “Those are the things that I really need to work on.”
Both players faced great frustration in the windy day time conditions. The defending champion served 6 aces and 10 double faults in the match, she saved 9 of 16 break points. The eventual winner saved 19 of 26. The two had not played each other before.
The teenager had calmed down significantly before attending her press conference and had won a doubles match with Victoria Mboko in the interim. She took responsibility for her reaction to the singles loss, saying “I can say that there were a lot of emotions that I was going through after the loss. But of course I’m not really proud of how I managed it. I’m not really proud of how I handled it in the end. Those are the things that I really need to work on soon.”
Asked if the words were directed at fans or her box, the young Russian said, “It was to myself, to everyone, basically. After the loss, I just get very angry, so I say those things sometimes to myself. I mean, first to myself, of course, but then, it was just anger coming out, just a lot of emotions. Not really towards anyone.”
Siniakova cried into her towel with joy after the win. The unseeded 29-year-old told media, that the match ending on a net cord added some complication to the victory: “I was, like, should I cheer or should — no, it’s really tricky finish.” The Czech added, “No one wants to finish like this. I wanted to enjoy it, but definitely I will not say I’m not happy. I was happy it was on the other side.”
Siniakova will face ninth seed Elina Svitolina for a quarterfinal berth.
The drama surrounding Andreeva’s inglorious exit should be no distraction from a solid fight in the stadium that preceded it.
Swiatek avenges Doha loss to Sakkari
Iga Siwatek beat out Maria Sakkari 6-3 6-2 to advance to the round of 16, where she will face Karolina Muchova. The Polish world No. 2 was pleased with the lessons she took from her February loss to the Greek player, saying “I think I adjusted better to the shorter balls than I did in Doha. I remember it was quite annoying there making mistakes from these balls. I also understood the wind a bit better. I think learned a lesson from this match in Doha and I’m happy that I could make some improvements.”
Looking ahead, the two-time Indian Wells champion is ready for the next battle. Describing the 13th-seeded Muchova, Swiatek said, “She’s an amazing player, and most of the times we played really tight matches. It’s going to be tough and I’m ready for the battle. Honestly, I love playing against her. I also love watching Karolina. Yeah, it’s just nice to see someone who plays so smart and so smooth. She’s like woman’s Roger.”
The bottom half of the draw will play the next round Wednesday.
