16yo Russian rewrites history with 54-minute demolition job at Australian Open

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva rewrote history on Wednesday and won over the Australian Open’s Melbourne crowd in the process.

Rohan Smith at Melbourne Park

2 min read

January 17, 2024 - 2:09PM

Russian Mirra Andreeva joined Anna Kournikova in Russian tennis record books on Wednesday.

Teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva has rewritten history with a clinical display in front of adoring fans at Rod Laver Arena this morning.

The 16-year-old Russian cruised past No. 6 seed Ons Jabeur 6-0 6-2 in just 54 minutes.

The clinic she put on during the first set put her in record company and, she admitted after the match, came as a surprise even to her.

At 16 years and 263 days, Andreeva became the youngest player in the Open era to claim a 6-0 opening set against a top 10-seeded player in the women’s singles at a Grand Slam event.

Days earlier, with a win over American Bernarda Pera, Andreeva became the youngest player to win a singles match at each Grand Slam since Coco Gauff and the youngest Russian to do so since Anna Kournikova.

Russian Mirra Andreeva joined Anna Kournikova in Russian tennis record books on Wednesday.

With her win on Wednesday, Andreeva became the second-youngest player to concede three games or fewer against a player in the top 10 of a women’s Grand Slam.

Jelena Dokic, who did that at Wimbledon in 1999, is the youngest.

Speaking after the match, Andreeva said she did not expect to start so well.

“Honestly, the first set, I showed amazing tennis,” she said.

“I didn’t expect that from myself. I just wanted to play on this big court for the second time and just to enjoy tennis and I did that.”

“I was really nervous before the match,” she said before paying respect to her Tunisian opponent.

“I am really inspired by the way she plays. Before I started to play on the WTA tour I always watched her matches,” she said,

“I just feel like I am a bit more mature than I was before.”

The on-court interviewer responded by telling her that she is still “only 16”.

“That’s true but last year I was 15,” Andreeva fired back as the crowd laughed.

“This year I think I changed a lot and you can see that on the court,” she said.

Mirra Andreeva plays a forehand against Ons Jabeur of Tunisia on Wednesday. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

The young Russian star said a highlight of visiting Australia was seeing all the animals and admitted her main priority upon touchdown was holding a snake.

Jabeur had her hands full early on in the match despite entering as the clear favourite.

Two-time Wimbledon finalist dropped the first set 6-0 and spent more than a minute speaking to her coach in the stands between the first and second sets.

The Tunisian finally broke through to win the first game of the second set before raising a hand to the roof in celebration. But it was short lived as she was broken again on her next service game.