Mirra Andreeva defeated Ons Jabeur 6-4 7-6 (2) to reach the Brisbane International semifinal in style and also emulated one of Maria Sharapova's impressive feats.
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When the 17-year-old takes on world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday, she will be appearing in her fourth WTA semifinal.
And when that happens, she will join the Russian tennis icon on the list of players with at least four semifinals before turning 18.
In the past 20 years, four other players managed to emulate the feat - Coco Gauff, Nicole Vaidisova, Tatiana Golovin and Michaella Krajicek.
Interestingly, Andreeva's first semifinal on the main level came at none other than a Grand Slam - she was a French Open semifinalist last year.
In the rest of 2024, she also won the WTA 250 tournament in Iasi and finished as runner-up in Ningbo.
Now, she is two wins away from winning her second WTA title. But in order to do so, she will first have to beat the current top-ranked player in the game.
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How Sabalenka feels about Andreeva?
After overcoming Marie Bouzkova, the Belarusian tennis star was full of praise for the 17-year-old, speaking highly of her game but also personality.
Shes a great player. We played an exhibition in Abu Dhabi. So I got to know her a little bit better. Shes a nice person and a great player. Weve had great battles in the past. Im really looking forward to facing her tomorrow," Sabalenka said of the Russian.
Eight months ago, Andreeva upset the world No. 1 in the French Open quarterfinal but the Belarusian easily won their back-to-back Madrid Open meetings in 2023 and 2024.
Heading into the Brisbane semifinal, the top seed is undoubtedly the favorite.
But one thing is for sure - Sabalenka absolutely won't take Andreeva for granted.
