Russian Mira Andreeva qualified for the semi-finals of the final tournament of the Women's Tennis Association, after she achieved a landslide victory over her compatriot Diana Schneider in two sets to no response, with a score of 6-2 and 6-1, on Friday, in Indian Wells in the American state of California.
Andreeva imposed her control over the confrontation after winning 12 of the last 13 games, concluding the group stage competitions with a full score, achieving three victories without a loss in the second set, after losing only 11 games during her three matches.
Andreeva will face American Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals, on Saturday, while Czech Linda Noskova, the Wimbledon champion, will wait for the winner of the match between Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka and Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, in the second match of the same round, at Indian Wells.
Schneider, the second alternate seed, participated in the last moments in place of Czech Karolina Muchova, who withdrew due to digestive disorders, to record her first appearance in the singles competitions in the final tournament.
Last year, Schneider participated in the doubles competitions alongside her compatriot Andreeva, after they qualified together for the tournament, but they lost their three matches in the group stage.
Although Schneider led by two unanswered games at the beginning of the first set, Andreeva quickly regained control and finished the match in just 55 minutes.
Andreeva won 71 percent of points on her first serve, and succeeded in exploiting six of seven opportunities to break her opponent's serve, while Schneider committed 32 errors during her only participation in the tournament, after spending the week training without knowing whether she would get the opportunity to play.
“I don’t know how much fun the match was,” Andreeva said after the match. It is nice to share the field with your friend, but it is more stressful for me personally, because I know her well.
Andreeva, the 19-year-old French Open champion, needed just over an hour to decide each of her first two matches, before she faced different conditions on Friday, with the wind significantly intensifying despite the sunny weather.
“The situation was a bit chaotic inside the stadium,” she commented.
Muchova, the runner-up at Wimbledon this year, lost her first two matches, making her chances of qualifying for the semi-finals non-existent even if she participated in Friday's match.
Muchova is the second player to withdraw from the eight-day tournament, which has $10 million in prize money, after world number one Elena Rybakina withdrew before the start of the competition last Sunday, due to a viral infection and fatigue.
For the first time since 2019, the tournament witnessed the participation of two substitute players in the group stage competitions, as Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk replaced Rybakina, but she lost her three matches in the first group.
Heavy rain is falling on the San Siro stadium, and the sky is narrow and closed, as in those movies that leave no escape. France scores early, as happens in matches that seem hopeless, when the field tilts in favor of the stronger.
According to Italian writer Marco Pucciantini, in an analysis published by the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, facing France was not originally the test by which Italy’s level was supposed to be measured, as it found itself in a group in the European Nations League that included three competitors representing different levels, from lowest to highest: Turkey, Belgium, and France.
This group was an ideal measure to know the true position of the Italian team, especially with the summoning of talented young players, and the growing courage in performance, until the result itself began to give way in the face of the importance of what the team was offering.
But Milan witnessed the sunrise in the heart of the night.
The Italian national team had its best evening in years. He wanted victory, rose up, suffered, fought, and deserved it. His attacks were launched clearly and smoothly, and he presented attractive team football. There was a period in the second half that carried enormous significance, when the French team was forced to look over the shoulders of its attackers, after all the events took place in its half of the field.
Between the two penalty kicks, Davide Fratesi's goal summed up the accumulation of values and moments of regaining respect, in a match during which the Italians succeeded in sowing anxiety within the French defense.
Pocciantini believes that Roberto Mancini, whose previous departure to Saudi Arabia to coach its national team caused shock in Italian circles, has once again proven that he possesses an exceptional vision in selecting players, and the ability to direct the team towards the right path, and to awaken minds that are good at complaining but lack clarity in construction.
The writer describes Mancini as a sophisticated coach with a clear vision, who knows how to exploit the short and intermittent periods available to national teams, to make a group of players, who gathered in the narrow gaps of the season, give their best.
As happened in his previous experience, when he needed approximately two matches to find the appropriate method, by relying on smaller players, keeping the ball, and controlling the rhythm and course of the matches, his return this time carried the same logic.
He may have been driven by a feeling of guilt, but he certainly came back with an idea that went beyond the prevailing reality of Italian football, after looking at it with less pessimistic and resigned eyes, and more hope and confidence in its potential.
About a hundred minutes filled with fear against Belgium were enough for him to quickly discover different players and find the appropriate words to open the doors and free the team from its fears.
Some of his choices over the past weeks have begun to resemble careful treatment of the defects.
He chose two full-backs who were formed in the environment of the English Premier League, with its speed, high rhythm, accustomed to strong matches, and continuous effort without stopping, in an effort to change the outcome of the match and deal with the lack of time and opportunities available to accomplish what can be accomplished.
Then why should we choose between Riccardo Calafiore and Alessandro Bastoni? Why sacrifice one of them?
As for the spearhead position, the issue is not related to the present alone, when the decision became natural in light of the absence of Moise Kean due to injury, Gianluca Scamacca going through an unstable phase, and the absence of other convincing alternatives.
The most important thing is what happened last time, when Kane was present after scoring nine goals in nine matches. That day, Mancini included both players, but he gave the spearhead position to Pio Esposito, and Kane was forced to play on the right side.
Pio, the only player Italy now calls by his first name.
Esposito spreads positive energy around him. His talent is already evident in his ability to play with his teammates, no matter how different their characteristics and styles are, and no matter how the team's tactical organization changes.
He has a constant desire to develop, which is a crucial characteristic in his position, because the spearhead occupies an area of the field where natural talent is complemented by experience and expertise. It is a position in which a player matures as he grows, but it requires a solid foundation of continuity and humility.
The writer describes him as a player with a sound mentality, who spreads his virtues on the field, which are reflected in the match and his teammates.
With Kane, you see the overwhelming strength and exhausting physical performance of opponents, but you cannot completely get rid of the premonition of a possible absence in the future, or the fear that he will let you down at some point.
With Bio, trust comes automatically. Know that you will always find him there, and that he will only get stronger with time. She knows that time works to his advantage, and that every minute he spends on the field represents a new stroke of the sculptor's chisel as he crafts a work of art that is gradually approaching completion.
Pocciantini reviews another aspect of Mancini's decisions, related to hiring Fratesi, a player who lives in a state of brilliance, and whose performance is fueled by feeling, emotion, and impulsiveness with favorable winds.
The coach placed him on the appropriate side of the midfield and gave him the advantage, as if telling him: Go to the place where you feel most comfortable, and this time we will adjust Nicolo Barella's position.
Barella is one of the constant elements in the Italian national team, one of its leaders, and one of the most prominent players of the strongest team in Italy at the club level. But when the sails catch a favorable wind, they should not be lowered.
The writer points out that these examples were imposed by the enthusiasm generated by an unexpectedly beautiful match, but at the same time they reflect deeper work that goes beyond the boundaries of the green rectangle.
The construction of any building, especially its reconstruction, does not occur on the work site alone, but rather begins inside closed rooms, and in the spaciousness of thinking, where ideas are formed before they are transferred to the field.
Strong decisions are also made with a pen and notebook, and by calling a new number on a mobile phone. It is the decision to call up players that Pocciantini believes represents one of the most notable aspects of Mancini's excellence.
In this work specifically, the Italian coach exercises his talent for vision and his audacity based on knowledge and competence. He went beyond simply expanding the base of choices, something that others had done before him and made it available to everyone, to the ability to discover what others did not see, and then show it to everyone.
As usual, there are those who remain staring at the finger, and there are those who raise their gaze to the moon that that finger points to.
Here the way of looking at the world is formed, and from there ideas are transferred to the playing field.
Choices and gameplay, vision and courage; This is how a beautiful story can begin, and a sunny day can be the beginning of a new chapter.
Pocciantini concludes his article by emphasizing that the matter is not about launching a new electoral campaign, in reference to this permanent practice that he sees as paralyzing all of Italy, but rather about preserving what has been achieved over the past months.
If something good has indeed happened, born during these strange and turbulent months, Italian football cannot afford to let it go to waste.
