By Frank Dalleres
Siberian starlet Mirra Andreeva, 16, savoured a resounding victory over one of her heroes after eliminating sixth seed Ons Jabeur in the second round of the Australian Open.
Andreeva, who made headlines at Wimbledon last year with a run to the fourth round, needed just 54 minutes to dispense with Tunisian two-time SW19 finalist Jabeur 6-0 6-2.
“In the first set I played really amazing tennis, I didn’t expect that from myself,” said the Russian teenager, who is now based in the south of France.
“I’m happy I played with Ons. It was one of my dreams to play against her, because I really like the way she plays. It meant a lot, this match that I won.
“She’s so nice. After the match she came to me, she wished me luck. I just know that she is who she is and she never changes.”
Andreeva was joined in the third round by compatriot Maria Timofeeva, after the 20-year-old qualifier roared back to beat former world No1 Caroline Wozniacki 1-6 6-4 6-1.
The two other 16-year-olds in the draw, including Andreeva’s best friend Alina Korneeva, saw their Australian Open adventures ended by top women’s seeds, however.
Czech Brenda Fruhvirtova, 16, lost 6-3 6-2 to defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, while Russian Korneeva fell to 10th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1 6-2.
Naomi Osaka’s conqueror Caroline Garcia failed to back up her first-round win as the 16th seed suffered a 6-4 7-6 (7-2) defeat to Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
US Open champion Coco Gauff had no such trouble progressing, seeing off fellow American Caroline Dolehide 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.
