"If she is going to win the second set, she is going to have to do something extraordinary" - Mirra Andreeva reacts to reaching first final in Madrid while touching on muted birthday celebrations

The queen of clay in 2026 has to be Mirra Andreeva. Following from the title in Linz and a semi-final in Stuttgart, she has made the final of the Madrid Open, digging the upset results many seeds have experienced to give herself a poke at a third WTA title in 2026.

She got the job done against Hailey Baptiste in dramatic circumstances. She was dominant in the first set and much of the second, not letting her opponent have a sniff. However, Baptiste did muster up a fightback.

She had defeated world number one and reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka in the round beforehand, showcasing her class. The American battled hard and levelled up at 5-5 as Andreeva was attempting to serve it out. A tiebreak emerged where Baptiste failed to convert three set points. Relieved by this close call, Andreeva finally got the contest done and dusted with her third match point to win 6-4, 7-6(8).

“Honestly, I’m super happy that I was able to stay composed and focused, even though I had a couple of opportunities to close out the set without the tiebreak,” Andreeva commented after the victory. “When it didn’t happen, I just told myself that if she is going to win the second set, she is going to have to do something extraordinary, because I’m not going to just let her win those points."

She analysed why Baptiste became more of a danger as the set progressed. “I feel like she was a little bit more brave closer to the end of the set, I also got a little bit more tight. I’m just happy that I was able to force myself to play brave and really go for my serves and my shots, so I would have more opportunities to close out this match.”

In the match, he serving was crucial. Right until the end of the match, she was utterly dominant when starting a point. The numbers back this up. Only two points were dropped on serve in the first set with that number rising to 12 in the second set, but crucially with more games. She won 81% of first serves, much more respectable than the 66% Baptiste put up.

Andreeva was aware of her impressive serving, but that had a downside. “I think that so many free points were helpful,” she said. “At some point, I thought there had been at least a couple of games where I didn’t miss my first serve, then obviously, as soon as I thought about it, I started to miss my first serves right away. So I really tried not to think about it, not to look at the screens and the statistics."

The singles title is obviously a huge priority for Andreeva. To win a third WTA 1000 title, and first on clay, at the age of 19 would be a special achievement. However, along with that is the prospect of triumphing alongside Diana Shnaider in the women's doubles event.

Andreeva is a regular feature in these competitions. She has played alongside fellow talented teenager Victoria Mboko at times this year, but most of her work is with her fellow countrywoman. They are yet to drop a set in this tournament, knocking out the number three seeds of Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang in the process. They will take on Laura Siegemund and former world number two Vera Zvonareva in the semi-finals.

The duo are closing on a second WTA 1000 title following from their success in Miami last year. “I love playing doubles, and I’m having so much fun all the time when I step on the court, we’ve won a couple of tournaments, we have amazing results together and obviously a lot of fun on the court as well,” she stated.

“I feel like now, it’s helping me to just forget about that pressure when I play singles, and really just enjoy and have fun in doubles, but when things are getting competitive, we’re not backing down, we’re fighting until the end, so trying to win this thing in doubles as well.”

A day before her tie against Baptiste, Andreeva turned 19-years-old. She celebrated her birthday by preparing for this tie, halting the big celebrations until after the tournament.

“We kind of did a little celebration yesterday at the restaurant, but I really couldn’t allow myself to even drink a soda!” she admitted. “I was drinking sparkling water, and I ate a little bit of cake, but I think we will have a bigger celebration a little bit later, maybe after Rome or before Rome. I will get my celebration, but maybe a little bit later.”

She has hinted at wanting some high heels for her birthday present. Despite her not expecting to get them, her agent came through with a pair. “Actually I did. I really wasn’t expecting that gift," she laughed. "My agent was really thoughtful and he got me a pair of high heels. I already have a video on my phone how I walk in them. I was extremely happy to receive that gift yesterday. I’ll try to go out somewhere maybe next week to just wear them and feel pretty.”