As the anticipation builds for Alex Eala’s main draw debut here, Russian World No. 5 Mirra Andreeva put the Singapore Open on notice on Wednesday night.
Andreeva reminded the rest of the field why she’s the top seed and the odds-on favorite to win it all.
The 19-year-old Andreeva needed only an hour and 12 minutes to dispatch Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-2, 6-2, in the round of 16 to begin her campaign.
‘I haven’t played her in two years now, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I haven’t seen her play recently, so I’m just super happy that I was able to stay super focused and manage to keep playing my game and try to go for my shots,’ said Andreeva, who made her Singapore Open debut in front of a packed Center Court crowd at OCBC Arena.
‘Sometimes the shots she’s been playing were unbelievable. Credit to her, it was not an easy match for me, but I’m super happy with how it went and super happy with my level.’
Andreeva, the reigning French Open champion, hopes to sustain her form against a familiar face in Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinal round on Friday.
They’ve split their four career meetings since 2023, with Fernandez winning the most recent one when she stunned Andreeva, 6-1, 6-4, before her home fans in Toronto in the third round of the Canadian Open last month.
Fernandez, who represents Canada and has Filipino roots, beat American Alycia Parks, 6-4, 6-3, in their round-of-16 duel on Wednesday.
Andreeva is projected to meet the third-seeded Eala in Sunday’s final.