Sabalenka Routs Keys, Books Indian Wells Title Clash with Andreeva

Mar 14, 2025; Indian Wells, CA, USA;  Aryna Sabalenka (BEL) reacts reacts at match point as she defeated Madison Keys (not pictured) in the semifinal match in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Well Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Mar 14, 2025; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Aryna Sabalenka (BEL) reacts reacts at match point as she defeated Madison Keys (not pictured) in the semifinal match in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Well Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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Sabalenka Routs Keys, Books Indian Wells Title Clash with Andreeva

Mar 14, 2025; Indian Wells, CA, USA;  Aryna Sabalenka (BEL) reacts reacts at match point as she defeated Madison Keys (not pictured) in the semifinal match in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Well Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Mar 14, 2025; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Aryna Sabalenka (BEL) reacts reacts at match point as she defeated Madison Keys (not pictured) in the semifinal match in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Well Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Aryna Sabalenka avenged her Australian Open loss to Madison Keys on Friday, thrashing the American 6-0, 6-1 to book an Indian Wells title showdown with teen sensation Mirra Andreeva.

Red-hot Russian 17-year-old Andreeva showed plenty of poise in a 7-6 (7/1), 1-6, 6-3 victory over defending champion Iga Swiatek, ending the second-ranked Pole's bid to become the first woman to win three titles in the California desert.

"I was hungry," said Sabalenka, who had made no bones about wanting revenge after Keys denied her bid for a third straight Australian Open title in January.

"That Australian Open match was really heartbroken for me, and I really needed some time to recover after that.

"And if I would lose today again, it would get in my head and I didn't want that to happen. I was really focused -- I was just really hungry to get this win against Madison."

Keys, who was riding a 16-match winning streak, couldn't get a foot in the door, AFP reported.

Sabalenka was untroubled by the cold, swirling wind on Stadium Court as she won the first 11 games.

"I think tactically I played really great tennis," said Sabalenka, adding her strategy was to "just keep her out of the rhythm".

The mis-firing Keys finally held serve for 5-1 in the second, but minutes later Sabalenka sealed the win and lined up a shot at the WTA tour's newest sensation Andreeva in what 26-year-old Sabalenka quipped would be "kind of like an old mama playing against a kid".

Andreeva beat Swiatek for the second time in as many tournaments, having stunned the Polish star in the quarter-finals at Dubai last month on the way to becoming the youngest ever WTA 1000 champion.

Swiatek, who hadn't dropped a set in winning 10 straight Indian Wells matches, looked supremely confident as she dropped just one point in her first three service games.

But it was Andreeva who claimed the first break of the tense first set for a 5-4 lead.

After Swiatek broke back and they reached the tiebreaker, Andreeva seized control, opening with a blistering backhand winner and pocketing the set on her first opportunity as Swiatek sent a backhand wide.

"I felt like I'm gonna go and play the tiebreak like it's the last tiebreak of my life," she said. "So I just went for all my shots. My serve was great. I just felt super comfortable and confident," she said.

Swiatek put her frustrations aside and broke Andreeva to open the second set, breaking her twice more as the Russian's errors multiplied under pressure from her opponent.

"The second set, it was a bit weird," Andreeva said. "I just felt like she literally overplayed me, because she was playing pretty deep with good height over the net. It was really hard to do something with these shots."

The roles reversed again, however, when Andreeva stepped up her attack and broke Swiatek to open the third, and she sealed the win with her third break of the set.

"I just decided to kind of still play the same but maybe go for my shots more, trying to play a little bit more aggressive," she said.

"I feel also that I was dealing with the nerves and the pressure pretty good, so I just feel proud of myself."



Real Madrid Makes Ancelotti’s Departure Official, Calling the Coach a ‘True Legend’ 

Real Madrid's coach Carlo Ancelotti holds the trophy after defeating Atletico Madrid in their Champions League final soccer match at the Luz Stadium in Lisbon, May 24, 2014. (Reuters)
Real Madrid's coach Carlo Ancelotti holds the trophy after defeating Atletico Madrid in their Champions League final soccer match at the Luz Stadium in Lisbon, May 24, 2014. (Reuters)
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Real Madrid Makes Ancelotti’s Departure Official, Calling the Coach a ‘True Legend’ 

Real Madrid's coach Carlo Ancelotti holds the trophy after defeating Atletico Madrid in their Champions League final soccer match at the Luz Stadium in Lisbon, May 24, 2014. (Reuters)
Real Madrid's coach Carlo Ancelotti holds the trophy after defeating Atletico Madrid in their Champions League final soccer match at the Luz Stadium in Lisbon, May 24, 2014. (Reuters)

Real Madrid made it official on Friday that Carlo Ancelotti is leaving the club after the end of the Spanish league this weekend. 

Ancelotti had already been announced as the next Brazil coach, but the Spanish club had yet to make any announcement about his departure. Ancelotti had another year left on his contract. 

“Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti have reached an agreement to bring an end to his time as Real Madrid coach,” the club said in a statement. “Our club wishes to express its gratitude and appreciation for a man who is a true legend of both Real Madrid and world football.” 

Madrid will pay tribute to Ancelotti on Saturday during the team's final match of the league season against Real Sociedad in the Spanish league at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Also bidding farewell on Saturday will be veteran midfielder Luka Modric. 

“Carlo Ancelotti will forever be part of the great madridista family,” Madrid club president Florentino Pérez said. “We feel incredibly honored to have had the chance to enjoy a coach who has helped us achieve so much success, but who has also embodied our club’s values in such exemplary fashion.” 

Madrid had not released any reaction or statement about its coach since Brazil’s announcement. 

The official announcement of Ancelotti's departure opens the way for Madrid to announce its next coach, who is widely expected to be Xabi Alonso. The former Madrid player recently confirmed he is leaving Bayer Leverkusen. 

Ancelotti is leaving after four mostly successful years in his second stint with Madrid, which won both the Champions League and the Spanish league last season. 

Ancelotti also coached the club from 2013-2015. In total, he was in charge of Madrid in more than 350 matches and helped it win three Champions Leagues, three Club World Cups, two Spanish leagues, two Copa del Reys, three UEFA Super Cups and two Spanish Super Cups. 

Madrid began the season by winning the UEFA Super Cup title, but has mostly struggled since then. Many Madrid fans blamed Ancelotti for its relatively poor season, saying he lost control over the squad and wasn’t able to get the team ready for the clasicos against Barcelona, which won the league. Madrid lost all four matches against the Catalan club this season.