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Mirra Andreeva, 17, claims back-to-back titles with Indian Wells victory over Aryna Sabalenka

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CNN
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It’s customary for tennis players to thank their fans, their coaching team and even their family after winning a title. Rarely, in true Snoop Dogg style, do they choose to thank themselves.

But teenager Mirra Andreeva has made a habit of giving herself a self-congratulatory pat on the back after recent victories, her latest coming at Indian Wells on Sunday.

The 17-year-old Andreeva defeated Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the California desert, becoming the tournament’s third-youngest female champion after Martina Hingis in 1998 and Serena Williams in 1999.

Following on from her victory in Dubai two weeks ago, she is also the youngest woman since Hingis in 1997 to win back-to-back WTA 1000 (previously Tier I) events.

Despite her youth, Andreeva is quickly making a habit of winning, and in impressive fashion. She defeated three high-ranked players at Indian Wells – No. 7 Elena Rybakina, No. 2 Iga Świątek, and then No. 1 Sabalenka – on her way to capturing a third career title.

Against Sabalenka, Andreeva came from behind having been comprehensively outplayed in the 36-minute opening set, winning fewer than half of her service points. Perhaps, then, you can excuse her for the brief and playful moment of egocentrism after the match.

“I would again like to thank myself for fighting until the end and always believing in me and for never quitting,” the Russian star said in her on-court interview, echoing her words from the victory in Dubai.

“I was running like a rabbit today because Aryna, she’s been sending bullets and it was really hard to just keep up. I just tried my best and that’s why I would thank myself because I think that I played a little part also.”

Andreeva celebrates with her second trophy in as many tournaments.

After losing the first set, Andreeva broke Sabalenka early in the second. She had to save break points to keep ahead of her Belarusian opponent, but eventually leveled the match with back-to-back aces at 5-4.

The pair traded breaks of serve at the start of the deciding set before Andreeva gained the upper hand with another break at 2-1. The finish line was now in sight, and the teenager completed the victory with a final break of serve, firing a forehand past Sabalenka and sinking to her knees.

“Many congratulations!!” five-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova wrote to her compatriot on X after the match. “So poised. So well deserved.”

With her 12th consecutive win, Andreeva became the youngest player in 40 years to defeat the two players at the top of the world rankings at a WTA event. She is also the youngest player to win 12-straight matches at WTA 1000 tournaments since the format was introduced in 2009.

Having broken into the world’s top 10 for the first time after the victory in Dubai, Andreeva will now rise to a career-high No. 6 ahead of the Miami Open.

In the men’s Indian Wells final, Great Britain’s Jack Draper claimed the biggest title of his career with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Denmark’s Holger Rune.

The 23-year-old Draper had defeated two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal and made light work of Rune in Sunday’s showpiece, powering to the title in a little over an hour without even facing a break point.

Draper poses with the Indian Wells trophy.

The breakthrough victory sees Draper rise from 14th to seventh in the ATP rankings and adds to the two ATP Tour titles he won in Vienna and Stuttgart last year.

“To be in this position now is beyond words, just so good,” Draper told Sky Sports after the match, adding: “I remember a couple of years ago I went through a lot of injuries and I was sort of looking at going back to the Challengers. I wasn’t ready to be a tennis player, to be a top player and put everything on the line.

“I almost thought about stopping for a while, I wasn’t quite into it. It took a lot for me to kind of grow up and think to myself that I could really be a top player … A lot of adversity, a lot of sacrifices, and I’m just trying to take it all in in the moment.”

On top of his three-set victory over Alcaraz in the semifinals, Draper also had to get past Americans Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz at Indian Wells, as well as high-flying Brazilian teenager João Fonseca.

He is only the fourth British player to win an ATP Masters 1000 title and the second to triumph at Indian Wells after Cameron Norrie four years ago.



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Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray end coaching partnership after six months

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Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have ended their coaching relationship after six months as the 24-time grand slam singles champion continues to struggle for form in 2025.

“Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun & support over last six months on & off the court,” Djokovic wrote on his social media channels. “I really enjoyed deepening our friendship together.”

The longtime rivals, who faced off in several all-time classic encounters on the court, announced in November that Murray would be joining Djokovic’s coaching team.

The partnership got off to a promising start as Djokovic reached the semifinals of January’s Australian Open after beating Carlos Alcaraz in a four-set epic in the quarterfinals, only for an injury to cut his last-four match against Alexander Zverev short.

However, Djokovic and Murray have failed to rekindle anything close to that kind of form in the months since.

“Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months,” Murray said in a statement. “I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season.”

Djokovic’s best performance this year came in reaching the final of the Miami Open, where he lost to unseeded teenager Jakub Menšík. The 24-time grand slam champion lost in the first round at the Qatar Open and Indian Wells before Miami, and in the first round of the Monte-Carlo Masters and Madrid Open since.

As recently as March, Djokovic said he hoped Murray would be his coach through the French Open and Wimbledon.

The 37-year-old pulled out of the ongoing Italian Open at the end of April, and this week accepted a wildcard into the Geneva Open which begins on May 18.



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Jayson Tatum: Boston loses star to leg injury as Knicks come up huge at home to take 3-1 lead over Celtics

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Jayson Tatum will have an MRI on the lower leg injury he suffered during the Boston Celtics’ 121-113 Game 4 defeat against the New York Knicks on Monday.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Celtics forward went down with an apparent non-contact injury as he tried to go after a loose ball. He quickly grabbed his right ankle and appeared to be in a lot of pain.

Tatum was helped off the court as he couldn’t put any pressure on his right leg and was taken through the tunnel in New York’s Madison Square Garden in a wheelchair.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game Tatum suffered a “lower body injury” and will have the scan on Tuesday.

“You are always worried about someone’s health,” Mazzulla told reporters. “He’s the type of guy that gets right up. He didn’t and we’ll know tomorrow exactly what it is. It’s tough to watch a guy like him getting carried off like that.”

To make matters worse, Monday’s defeat means the Boston Celtics now trail 3-1 in the series and face elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Trainers check on Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum after he was injured late in the fourth quarter.

Down by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, New York ended the period on a 12-2 run to take an 88-85 lead into the fourth.

With less than six minutes remaining in regulation of a tied 102-102 game, OG Anunoby drained a three-pointer to give the Knicks a 105-102 lead, which New York would not relinquish.

Four Knicks players scored at least 20 points with Jalen Brunson leading the way with 39 points, 12 assists and five rebounds. Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each had 23 points and Anunoby added 20.

After the victory, Brunson discussed the comeback win and extending the series lead.

“It means a lot. It’s a big game for us, just the way we responded, is what I’m most proud of, sticking together and making sure we are not quitting,” Brunson said at the postgame news conference.

“That’s a tough team over there. Obviously, we want to get off to better starts, but they got experience. They’re the defending champs for a reason.”

Tatum finished with a game-high 42 points, tying Celtics legends Larry Bird and John Havlicek for the most 40-point postseason games in franchise history. Tatum also had eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks in 40 minutes.

“That’s our brother, hate to see him go down. We know the type of guy he is. It’s tough to see him go down,” Celtics guard Derrick White, who scored 23 points in the loss, said after the game. “We just have to find a way to win Game 5.”

Boston guard Jaylen Brown, who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, said it was “tough” seeing Tatum go down.

Tatum is set to undergo an MRI Tuesday.

“Tonight is tough. I think everybody is kind of at a loss of words just because, one losing a game, but obviously, the concern with JT. But we pick our heads back up tomorrow and go from there,” Brown said.

Brunson said he’s “praying for the best” for Tatum.

“We want to go out there and compete, but when a player of his caliber goes down and he’s rolling in pain like that, you know something is wrong, so that why I gave my thoughts and prayers because you never want to see something like that ever. ”

The Knicks will look to eliminate the defending NBA champion Celtics on Wednesday in Boston.



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Coco Gauff makes history with dominant victory over Emma Raducanu to advance to Italian Open quarterfinals

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American tennis star Coco Gauff put on a dominant display as she eased past Emma Raducanu on Monday to book her spot in the Italian Open quarterfinals.

The No. 4 seed dropped just three games in her convincing 6-1, 6-2 win over her British opponent in Rome, needing just 79 minutes to secure victory.

In reaching the quarterfinals, the 21-year-old becomes the youngest player to reach four quarterfinals in WTA 1000 clay tournaments since the top-level events were introduced in 2009.

Gauff will face world No. 7 Mirra Andreeva in the final eight on Wednesday after the 18-year-old came back to beat Clara Tauson in three sets.

Gauff is showing impressive form on clay at the right time with the French Open just around the corner.

The American has won eight of her last nine matches on the surface, with her only loss coming in the final of the Madrid Open to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Gauff revealed after her victory over Raducanu that she has been focusing on her footwork over the last two weeks in preparation for playing at Roland Garros, and highlighted her forehand – which has been inconsistent of late – as a key factor in her win on Monday.

“I think, today, (it) was the reason why I won the match,” Gauff told reporters. “Especially on this surface, I think I can do a lot with it.”

Gauff was in control from the outset against Raducanu on Campo Centrale and never let up. She won 39 of her 59 service points and broke Raducanu’s serve four times.

Gauff has now won both of her matches against Raducanu during her career.

She admitted that it has taken some time to get adjusted to playing on a different surface in Italy but feels good about where she is now.

“It still feels so slow compared to Madrid,” Gauff said, “but I’m getting used to it with each match. I feel really happy with how I played. I think I really was the one dictating the match for the most part.”

Elsewhere on Monday, Sabalenka held of a stiff challenge from Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk to book her spot in the quarterfinals, winning 6-1, 7-6 (8) in two hours and five minutes.



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