Mirra Andreeva was ‘ready to die on court’ as teen wins new car and £2.5m final

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Mirra Andreeva said she was willing to “die on the court” to win the WTA Finals on her debut. The 19-year-old competed in the doubles draw at the season-ending championships last…

Mirra Andreeva said she was willing to “die on the court” to win the WTA Finals on her debut. The 19-year-old competed in the doubles draw at the season-ending championships last year, but this was her first time qualifying for the eight-woman singles event. She stormed through the draw, winning all 10 sets she played to be crowned the champion. After beating Elina Svitolina 7-5 6-3 in Sunday’s final, Andreeva lifted the trophy, banked £2.55million ($3.37million) in prize money, and won a custom Mercedes-AMG SL 55 4MATIC+ car. She also walks away with an extra 1,500 ranking points and could well contend for the No. 1 ranking early next year.

Coming into the final, Andreeva had dropped 18 games across her first four matches – the lowest ahead of a championship match at the WTA Finals since the tournament reverted to the round-robin format in 2003. That included a 6-4 6-0 win over Svitolina in the group stage.

But the world No. 3 knew that it would be a difference Svitolina on the court on Sunday, and it was. They played some tight games, and Andreeva was broken three times, but still came through in straight sets.

Immediately after the match and before she had even lifted the trophy or received her other prizes, Andreeva joined Sky Sports courtside and explained just how far she was willing to go to be crowned the WTA Finals champion.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Coming into this match, it was the second time in my life where I thought, you know, I’m just gonna die on the court, but she’s not getting the win,” the teenager grinned.

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“I felt like if she wins today, it’s going to be over my dead body. I’m going to have blisters, I’m going to have cramps, I’m going to have everything that you possibly can have, but I’m not going to lose this match.

Andreeva was well aware of the challenge Svitolina posed – but still didn’t want to give in.

“But…

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