Ruthless Andreeva cruises past frustrated Tauson in rematch of Dubai final

Tauson cut a frustrating figure against AndreevaJOHN G. MABANGLO / EPA / Profimedia

World No. 11 Mirra Andreeva advanced to the fourth round at the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells after defeating No. 21 Clara Tauson 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday night in a rematch of last month’s final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which the 17-year-old won 7-6(1), 6-1 to capture her first WTA 1000 title.

Tauson was under pressure from the start, as she had to dig out a 0-40 deficit in her opening service game to hold her serve to 1-0, but the Dane, who is leading the WTA Tour in terms of aces, still struggled to put points on the scoreboard in her own service games.

Tauson won just 55.6 percent of her first serve points and was broken five times in a match where she also made no less than 31 unforced errors.

Andreeva on the other hand never faced break points and won over 70 percent of her service points cruising to an emphatic win in just over an hour.

Andreeva will face 2023 champion and World No. 7 Elena Rybakina in the Round of 16 on Tuesday. Andreeva defeated Rybakina last month en route to the Dubai title.