Mirra Andreeva is making history this week in Dubai but the reality is that she didn't really expect anything like this to happen.
On Friday, the Russian tennis star delivered a big performance to beat No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina in the semifinal. 6-4 4-6 6-3.
A day earlier, the 17-year-old went second-seeded Iga Swiatek packing out of the tournament after claiming an impressive 6-3 6-3 win.
By reaching the final in Dubai, Andreeva became the youngest player to reach a WTA 1000 tournament final since the format was established in 2009.
Before upsetting the Kazakh and the Pole, she also earned wins over Elina Avanesyan, 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, and Peyton Stearns.
And all of this is happening after the rising star suffered a disappointing loss to world No. 42 Rebecca Sramkova in the Doha second round last week.
Andreeva: I felt down after Doha... I was like just play in Dubai and this happens
"I don't know if it's a paradox or something," the 17-year-old said.
"Honestly, after playing in Doha and losing tough second round, having a lot of opportunities, I just felt a bit down.
"Not depressed. I was, 'Well, maybe now this time I'm not playing my best tennis, so OK, it's fine.' Last year I didn't play so good on these courts in Dubai. I was like, 'Well, OK, whatever. I'm just going to play. We're going to see.'
"In the end when you don't think about what's going to happen, it always ends up being one of the best tournaments of your career. I don't know if it's a paradox or something, but it's just like this."
For the Dubai title, Andreeva will battle against Clara Tauson.
If the 17-year-old Russian - who won the WTA 250 tournament in Iasi last summer - wins the Dubai final, it will be her second title.
