As the Andreeva sisters posed at the net ahead of their first professional match against each other, they were all smiles. But exactly 90 minutes later, once Erika had wrapped up a clinical 6-3, 6-1 defeat of her younger sibling Mirra, there were no celebrations -- simply a wordless hug of comfort at the net, before the pair returned to their respective benches.
"It was tough for both of us," Erika said afterward. "First experience, and both of us were happy it happened at a big tournament. But I'm not sure we enjoyed it."
Wuhan: Scores | Schedule | Draws
Ahead of the match, the 17-year-old Mirra had described the prospective matchup as a "nightmare" -- not just due to the psychological dynamic but because Erika was so familiar with her game. Even though the sisters hadn't played so much as a practice set against each other in over five years, this proved to be the case on court.
Though Mirra took an early 3-1 lead, and had a point to go up a 4-1 double-break, Erika's anticipation was already a standout factor. The 20-year-old read Mirra's patterns of play like a book and often seemed to foresee her sister's changes of direction and switchups before the shot had even been played.
"It's true, because we played each other in childhood a lot," Erika said. "I know where she will most possibly go, and she as well. Sometimes during the rally I was like, 'Normally I go there, but I know that she knows that I go there,' and I changed my decision. I'm not sure that was the best choice sometimes."
Ultimately, though, it was Erika who handled the second-guessing more coolly. Unforced errors began to flow from Mirra's racquet as she ran out of ideas to get the better of her sister. From 3-1 up in the first set, she lost nine straight games and 11 of the last 12.
The result is Erika's second career Top 20 win, following her upset of Danielle Collins in Monterrey in August. Having entered Wuhan as a lucky loser, the World No.70 will next face Jasmine Paolini in the last 16. The Italian No.3 seed won the last match of the day, 6-4, 6-3 over Yuan Yue.
