Mirra Andreeva shreds competition at Iasi Open, sets sights on Olympic Games

Tuesday, 23 July 2024 at 16:17

Mirra Andreeva is one of only a few top WTA names in action this week at the Iasi Open where she is top seed and favourite to claim the title in Romania and she is wasting little time as she aims to spend as little time as possible playing ahead of the Olympic Games next week.

Andreeva who will compete as an AIN also known as a neutral athlete so won't compete for Russia saw off Noma Noha Akugue in the opening round on Sunday evening 6-1, 6-2 and it was a near mirror image as she returned to the court on Tuesday.

She thrashed Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-1, 6-3 and will now face Lea Boskovic for a spot in the semi-finals tomorrow so by Thursday could be into the final. It will be a quick turnaround though likely for Andreeva hence why many players decided against playing in Romania or Czech Republic this week.

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The action starts in Paris on Saturday with the draw taking place on Thursday and so Andreeva could feasibly be playing again by the end of the weekend. But also matches are needed by some including Andreeva.

She has not played since a disappointing Wimbledon where she was dumped out in the first round by Brenda Fruhvirtova coming in with so much promise after reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros. But it soon turned into despair as she was soundly beaten. She hasn't played since and so picked this as a tune-up ahead of the Olympic Games.

Considering her Roland Garros run and also how she has played thus far at the Iasi Open, she could be considered as one of the favourites ahead of Roland Garros. She will aim to continue that roll tomorrow and with a pretty favourable draw this week for Andreeva, it could be a title winning foray.