01/16/26 11:35:00
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01/16 23:30 CST Andreeva comes back from early deficit to beat Mboko in the
Adelaide International final
Andreeva comes back from early deficit to beat Mboko in the Adelaide
International final
ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) --- Third-seeded Mirra Andreeva trailed 3-0 but came
back to win nine games in a row and 12 of the last 13 to beat Victoria Mboko
6-3, 6-1 in the Adelaide International final on Saturday.
The match featured the only players aged under 20 inside the top 20 on the WTA
Tour. Andreeva is 18 and Mboko 19.
The Canadian took a 3-0 lead in the first set before Andreeva evened the match,
winning 13 consecutive points and dominating the rest of the set and match.
Trailing 3-0 in the second set, Mboko took a medical timeout when her blood
pressure and pulse was taken. She returned to win her first game of the second
set but Andreeva closed out the match three games later.
It was Andreeva's fourth WTA title.
"I've been practicing a lot," Andreeva said. I've been working, sweating . . . "
Mboko has rapidly established herself near the top of the rankings and has two
career titles: the WTA 1000 Canadian Open at Montreal last year and the WTA 250
Hong Kong Open.
She will rise to a career-high No. 16 ahead of her Australian Open debut on
Monday, where she'll face another teen in Australia's Emerson Jones.
"Sorry I couldn't be 100%, but I want to give a huge congrats to Mirra for
playing incredible tennis today and her team, of course, too," Mboko said.
Andreeva will also open her Australian Open campaign on Monday, facing Donna
Vekic. Andreeva has reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park the past two
years.
In the later men's final at Adelaide, Tomas Machac was to play Ugo Humbert.
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