JAKARTA - Second seed Amanda Anisimova managed to end Mirra Andreeva's fight to defend her title at the 2026 Dubai Open tournament in a very tense quarterfinal match.
The American lost the first set and had to undergo the next two sets which were dramatic to lock in the victory with a score of 2-6, 7-5, and 7-6(4) in a two-hour 38-minute match on Thursday, February 19, 2026, WIB night.
"I almost cried at the end of the match. Today's match was very hard and I think we played tennis with extraordinary," Anisimova said after the match as reported by the WTA official website.
Andreeva took advantage of two break points in the first set to take the lead and then had a 2-0 lead in the set. However, Anisimova bounced back and won the next five games.
Andreeva then fought hard by winning three games in a row to tie the score at 5-5. However, Anisimova managed to break the serve to bring the quarterfinal match to a decisive set.
In the deciding set, Andreeva managed to get two break points when he was leading 6-5, but failed to take advantage of the opportunity. Anisimova then increased the level of his game and forced the match to continue to the tie-break.
"He played really well. He is the defending champion and I feel we both won on the court today. In a match like this, it is always difficult if someone has to lose in the end," said Anisimova.
This latest result makes Anisimova secure a WTA 1000 semifinal ticket for the fourth time. He previously reached the finals of the Qatar Open and China Open 2025 - both of which ended up champions - as well as the 2024 Toronto Open which ended up as runners-up.
Anisimova will next face fourth-seeded compatriot Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.
The duel repeated the 2026 Australian Open Grand Slam quarterfinal match last month, which was won by Pegula.
Pegula earned a semifinal ticket in Dubai after defeating 12th seed and last year's runner-up, Clara Tauson, 6-3, 2-6, and 6-4. This result is her seventh consecutive semifinal on the WTA Tour since last year's US Open.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
