TEENAGE wunderkind Mirra Andreeva has put the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open draw on notice with a commanding 6-2 6-2 defeat of local hope Emma Navarro in the first round. Andreeva completely outclassed Navarro in a 65-minute demolition, taking to the court for the first time since winning silver in the Paris doubles event.

Andreeva outpowered Navarro throughout the match, hitting 11 more winners (16-5) and forced the American onto the backfoot. With Navarro coming off a semi-finals appearance in Toronto, Andreeva quickly wanted to gain control and not let up throughout the match.

“I knew that it was going to be a very hard match,” Andreeva said post-match. “She’s had an amazing year so far, so I was just trying to go on court and do my best and to play because I had nothing to lose, I just went out there, tried to show my best level, and tried to win a match, and I think I did it.”

Andreeva won 82 per cent of her first serve points and 65 per cent of her second serve points in a commanding service performance. She only dropped 11 points for the match off her serve, while winning 26 of 52 (50 per cent) upon return. Andreeva also broke four times from eight chances and saved the only break point she faced.

“I’m very happy that I didn’t feel as nervous as I thought I would. I think my serve was great today, and I hope it’s going to stay the same for this U.S. swing,” Andreeva said.

“It was really, really hot, and there’s no shade on court … I’m really happy with how I played today.”

Andreeva will next face former world number one Karolina Pliskova, who won the Cincinnati Open back in 2016.

AROUND THE COURTS

World number one Iga Swiatek looked to be on track for a 50-minute win against Varvara Gracheva when leading 6-0 5-2, but the Frenchwoman reeled off four of the next five games to force, and then win a tiebreaker. Though it went into a deciding set, Swiatek proved too strong, winning 6-0 6-7 6-2.

Former Top 5 Spaniard Paula Badosa also advanced through to the next round, defeating American wildcard Peyton Stearns, while Caroline Wozniacki and Marta Kostyuk also stamped their tickets into the next round.

Andreeva was not the only Russian winning on day two however, with Anna Kalinskaya, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Liudmila Samsonova all advancing to the Round of 32. The other winners were Czech Karolina Muchova, Canadian Leylah Fernandez, Polish qualifier Magdalena Frech, local hope Taylor Townsend and lucky loser Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.