Paired charge: how the Russian duo is fighting for victory in Miami

Mirra Andreeva and Diana Schneider reached the semifinals of the doubles tournament in Miami, beating Ekaterina Alexandrova and Peyton Stearns. The silver medalists of the 2024 Olympics had an unsuccessful first set, or rather, its end, but were able to gather for the second game and eventually move on. In the tie-break, the American literally crumbled, and alone Alexandrova could not resist one of the most promising duets in the world. In the semi-finals, our girls will meet the Asian couple Jiang Xinyu / Wu Fangxian.

Stomach problems

Mirra Andreeva's 13-match winning streak at the "thousandths" in singles ended in Miami this week in a duel with American Amanda Anisimova. (6:7, 6:2, 3:6). During this match, the 17-year—old Russian called the doctors to the court twice, and it became clear that she had some kind of health problems. The very next day (March 25), Mirra, along with Diana Schneider, had to play with a couple from China, Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan. Before the game, there were rumors about Andreeva's withdrawal from the tournament, but nothing like that happened — on the contrary, Mirra came out charged and fresh, and our duo secured their way to the quarterfinals in just 50 minutes (6:2, 6:1)

It turned out that three hours before the game with Anisimova, the winner of the tournaments in Dubai and Indian Wells felt stomach pains, which she could not cope with before the game. For obvious reasons, athletes need to be extremely careful with medications.

Mirra herself reacted calmly to the question about her health after the victorious match of the 1/8 finals in a pair.

— Everything is fine now. I wouldn't say that's the only reason I lost. She (Anisimova) played a very good match. And I had a lot of opportunities that I didn't take advantage of," Andreeva Jr. commented to Izvestia. — Haven't I played too many matches lately? Of course, you get a little tired, but you don't really have a choice - you just keep playing and you know you're going to rest soon. I wouldn't say I'm super tired. So I calmly continue to play as a couple.

In a hard struggle

Mirra and Diana had to face much more formidable opponents to reach the semifinals than in the early stages. In Miami, Alexandrova and Stearns knocked out fourth-seeded Elena Ostapenko and Ellen Perez, and are also having a strong season in singles. This is especially true of the Russian woman, who, after starting cooperation with Igor Andreev, gave one of the best stretches of her career. The native of Chelyabinsk won the tournament in Linz (the largest in her career), and then reached the semifinals of the "thousandth" in Doha. However, after an eight-match winning streak (including Victoria's beautiful victory over world number one Arina Sobolenko), Alexandrova lost four matches in a row in singles.

However, the mood could have been improved in doubles, and Ekaterina spent the first set of the quarterfinals beyond all praise. In one of the games, she served through four times in a row (!). And with the score 5:4, I scored two set points. It didn't work out to win the opening game on the first attempt, but Mirra and Diana provided another opportunity for their opponents. With the score 6:5, Alexandrova and Stearns also scored set points, and the American was able to win the decisive draw at the net.

The second game began with the fact that the Russian-American duo took their game to zero. It seemed that this could be a serious blow for Schneider and Andreeva, but on the contrary, it only angered them. In the third, they earned their first break point of the match, and in the fifth, they took their opponents' serve. And they did it to zero. Stearns helped with a double mistake. The second break happened with the score 5:3, and this game turned out to be quite dramatic. In it, Mirra successfully played three times at the net. Twice at the beginning of the game (0:30) and in the deciding draw at 40:40.

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So it came to a tie-break, where there was no real fight. At 1-0, Payton made a mistake at the net, and at 3-1, she made a double mistake. The Russian duo caught the courage and eventually brought the matter to its logical conclusion. Mirra was the headliner this time, but Diana scored the decisive point with a beautiful shot into the hallway.

After this victory, Schneider rose to 21st place in the Live Doubles ranking, Andreeva Jr. — to 24th. For both of them, this is the best result in their careers. If successful in Miami, Diana could make her debut in the top 15, Mirra in the top 20.

For Ekaterina and Peyton, the quarterfinals of the "thousandth" are also a cool result, considering that they entered the grid as alternative participants.

Next, Mirra and Diana play with Chinese Jiang Xinyu and filipina Wu Fangxian. In the finals, they passed the strong Americans Jessica Pegula and Ashlyn Krueger, so they pose a serious threat.