Andreeva wins 11 games in a row to thrash Sabalenka at WTA Finals

Mirra Andreeva won 11 games in a row as she thrashed world number two Aryna Sabalenka to reach the last four at the WTA Finals. French Open champion Andreeva was 4-1 down in the opening set before producing some superb tennis and taking advantage of an increasingly erratic Sabalenka performance. She used loopy high balls to initially wrong-foot Sabalenka and then showcased her easy power, hitting 16 winners to only six unforced errors and creating brilliant angles from the baseline.

The only blip came when she found herself 15-30 down as she served for the first set. However, Andreeva calmly hit three aces in a row to take the lead and never looked back. Just as in the French Open quarter-finals, where she lost the third set 6-0, Sabalenka could not find her rhythm or range.

The Belarusian hit 23 unforced errors and failed to produce a single ace at Indian Wells, where she won the WTA Tour title earlier this year. The second seed had taping on her knee but it did not seem to hinder her - this, rather, was a performance similar to some of the collapses she has had this year.