16-year-old tennis phenom Mirra Andreeva got an interesting experience at the 2023 Négométal Open de Bourg-de-Péage when she got to play an ATP player.
The teenager entered the exhibition tournament played at Complexe Vercors in Bourg-de-Péage, France, in an attempt to play some matches before the 2024 WTA season, but she certainly didn’t expect to compete against a male tennis player.
In her semifinal match, Andreeva overpowered Varvara Gracehva in two sets, and initially, she was supposed to take on Donna Vekic in the final. However, the Croatian player withdrew from the tournament, and she was replaced by Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine.
Yet, shortly before the match, the Ukrainian refused to play against the opponent from Russia, and tournament organizers had to quickly find a replacement, but they didn’t manage to do that, or at least find another WTA player.
But there was one ATP player available, world no. 1145, Yanis Ghazouani Durand, who trains in the local Peageois club. It was an unexpected Battle of the Sexes that many fans did not expect to see at the exhibition in France.
In the first set of the match, the Russian got off to a strong start when she won the opening two games of the match, leading 2-0. But her opponent was able to use his physical advantage and recover the break, soon leading 3-2 in the opener.
Andreeva then showed why she’s one of the best players on the WTA Tour, when she managed to keep pace with Ghazouani Durand. With the scoreboard showing 5-5, it seemed that the first set would have to be decided in the tie-break, but that was when Ghazouani Durand started showing his qualities.
The French player won five consecutive games, winning the first set 7-5 and building a one-break advantage in the second set to lead 3-0. Andreeva was able to win one game after that to make it 3-1, but the Frenchman broke once more, leading 5-1.
The 16-year-old prodigy refused to give up despite playing seven years older man, and she recovered one break. At 2-5, she even saved one match point, but ultimately, her opponent was the better player as men’s world no. 1145, Ghazouani Durand, won the match 7-5, 6-2.
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