Andreeva Beats Baptiste to Reach Madrid Open Final

Mirra Andreeva advanced to the Madrid Open final for the first time Thursday, defeating Hailey Baptiste 6-4, 7-6 (8) in a tense semifinal match at La Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain.

The ninth-seeded Russian, who turned 19 on Wednesday, dominated early on the outdoor clay courts. Andreeva conceded just two points on her first serve in the opening set and broke Baptiste in the seventh game with a backhand down the line after the American's forehand went wide. Baptiste committed 16 unforced errors in the set.

In the second set, Andreeva broke for a 3-2 lead and later served for the match at 5-4, but Baptiste saved a match point and broke back with two winners after Andreeva double-faulted and missed a smash, leveling at 5-5. The set went to a tiebreak, where Baptiste took a 4-0 lead and earned three set points. Andreeva saved them all with precise backhands and converted her third match point when Baptiste's return sailed long. Baptiste fired an ace to save one match point earlier in the tiebreak.

Baptiste, the 30th seed, had upset world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals but could not sustain her momentum. Andreeva won 81 percent of first-serve points and converted two...