Mirra Andreeva beats Iga Swiatek again for 11th straight win, Indian Wells final berth

Coming into Friday, Mirra Andreeva was riding a 10-match win streak. Iga Swiatek had won her last 10 matches on the grounds of the BNP Paribas Open.

One of these streaks had to give at Indian Wells, as the two clashed in the first of two intriguing semifinal battles.

When the two shook hands, it was Andreeva who booked consecutive WTA 1000 finals with a 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-3 victory. The No. 9 seed also dispatched Swiatek on her way to lifting the Dubai trophy—her biggest triumph to date.

Swiatek had won 20 consecutive sets here, dating back to her 2023 semifinal defeat to Elena Rybakina. Andreeva showed tremendous poise after not serving out the opener at 5-4 that followed the first break of the contest for either competitor.

In the tie-break, Andreeva’s backhand emerged as the difference maker—earning her both an initial mini break and the double break on the side with the wind. The 17-year-old wrapped up a dominant finish to the set with 18 winners to 11 unforced errors.

"My serve was great, and just felt super comfortable and super confident during the tie-break. I kind of played on a roll," Andreeva assessed in press.

While the two-time champion had showed signs of distress late in the ‘breaker, any frustration she was feeling left her system when Swiatek secured an immediate break at the start of set two. Getting her forehand going and leaning into her experience on this court, Swiatek seized full control by gaining the superior baseline position.

With the scoreboard level, the tide turned again. Six unforced errors over two games that went to deuce saw Swiatek fall behind 0-2. Andreeva then recovered from 0-30 with a pair of winners sandwiched between a visit to the chair umpire from the Pole.

Andreeva stretched her advantage to a 4-1 double break, as the match—and crowd’s support—seemingly slipped away from the five-time major winner. Swiatek salvaged one break back, but wasn't able to force her opponent to serve it out in getting broken for the fifth time on the day.

"The second set, it was a bit weird, but I can say that I really tried to do something. I just felt like she literally overplayed me, because she was playing pretty deep with good height over the net. It was really hard to do something with these shots," said Andreeva.

"I went on a toilet break. I started to think what can I change? And after, I just decided to kind of still play the same but maybe go for my shots more, trying to play a little bit more aggressive. In the end, I got the win, so I feel great."

For the title and chance to bring a 12-match win streak into Miami, Andreeva awaits the winner of an Australian Open final rematch between top seed Aryna Sabalenka and the Melbourne title holder Madison Keys. Swiatek was looking to end a title drought dating back to 2024 Roland Garros.