Mirra Andreeva has revealed that she is "excited" to face Elena Rybakina in the third round of the WTA China Open.
The 16-year-old came through qualifiers before ousting tenth seed Barbora Krejcikova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets to set up her first match against the World No. 5. At the same time, Rybakina defeated home player Qinwen Zheng 6-1, 6-2 before winning against Tatjana Maria 7-5, 6-0.
The Kazakhstani player has been one of the highest-ranked players on the WTA Tour for a while now after she won Wimbledon in 2022 as the seventeenth seed. Meanwhile, at this year's grasscourt major, Andreeva made a name for herself after the teenager made the fourth round, moving past Krejcikova and twenty-second seed Anastasia Potapova along the way.
Ahead of the match, Andreeva expressed her excitement for the clash, praising the 24-year-old's playing style.
"I wanted to play her actually. I like how she plays. I know she's a good server," she said.
The Russian also stated some of her aims for the match, saying that she will try to break her opponent several times despite Rybakina's powerful serve.
"I will try to break her a few times, if possible. I will give my everything so there are no regrets. If I win then I'm super happy. If she wins it means she played some good tennis. But I'm excited for it," she continued.
The winner of the match will progress to the quarter-final of the WTA 1000 tournament at the National Tennis Center in Beijing. Andreeva is currently the World No. 60 and a win here would help her to rise up the WTA Ranking as she continues to improve on the Tour.
Mirra Andreeva is excited to play Elena Rybakina: “I wanted to play her actually. I like how she plays. I know she's a good server. I will try to break her a few times, if possible. I will give my everything so there are no regrets. If I win then I'm super happy. If she wins it…
