INDIAN WELLS — Mirra Andreeva, already the youngest-ever WTA 1000 champion, tries to add another prestigious title to her resume on Sunday (Monday in Manila) when she takes on world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at Indian Wells.
For the 17-year-old Russian — who ended Iga Swiatek's title defense in the semifinals — it's a chance to avenge a stinging 6-1, 6-2 loss to the Belarusian star in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
"She almost killed me, especially in Melbourne," Andreeva said. "I'm going to try to take a revenge, because I still have nothing to lose."
Andreeva has made big strides since that Australian Open defeat, notably toppling Grand Slam champions Swiatek and Elena Rybakina on the way to the WTA 1000 title in Dubai last month.
That briefly pushed her into the top 10 in the world rankings, and she'll be back there when the new rankings are released on Monday.
But Sabalenka seems fully recovered from her shock loss to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final — a defeat she avenged with a 6-0, 6-1 rout of the American in the semifinals.
Sabalenka hasn't dropped a set in reaching her second Indian Wells final, and after finishing runner-up to Rybakina in the California desert two years ago she's eager to go one step better.
The 26-year-old joked that taking on Andreeva would be "kind of like an old mama playing against a kid," but in fact, she said, "I passed this stage of thinking about the age of my opponent."