Get the tissues out!

(Yes... Mirra has cried a lot already this year)

Mirra Andreeva may be the defending champion, but her current run just oozes nerves. Against Jaqueline Cristian, she looked very fragile on this fast surface, constantly showing frustration toward her box and struggling to find consistency on serve, with a total of 13 breaks in the match. She’s surviving thanks to her exceptional return (43.7% of return games won), but against a big server like Anisimova, that weakness on serve is a real danger. Her recent interviews confirm a lack of emotional maturity: we’ve already seen her in tears many times this year under the weight of expectations, a sign of mental fragility we’d already noticed in her cruel loss to Victoria Mboko in Doha. Mboko, with her huge serve, managed to make Mirra crack by saving a match point before winning. That type of profile is pretty much exactly what Amanda Anisimova brings to the table.

A little anecdote from her round of 16: she committed 31 unforced errors and 7 double faults, admitting in her post-match interview that she felt “nervous” for her first title defense. I don’t know about you, but personally it really doesn’t make me want to trust her at all, even with all those points to defend.

Speaking of points, there’s another player who lost 990 of them in Doha after retiring against Plíšková… and who now has a chance to get some back, especially with Queen Rybakina pulling out! Dropping 3 spots in the top 10 hurts for the American.

So Mirra will be playing with double pressure! A defeat here would also lead toher dropping out of the world elite, especially with Svitolina, ranked 9th and right behind her. The Ukrainian is going to play a Lucky Loser in the quarterfinals, who’s still wondering how she even ended up here ^^, an easy matchup. I think there’ll be some serious shaking on the Russian side!

Amanda is one of the best returners in the world, serves bombs, and has already beaten her in Miami last year. I also consider Miami to be medium-fast even if the bounce is higher. Good luck Mirra, they’re forecasting some gusts of wind tomorrow!