16-year-old Mirra Andreeva blitzes Ons Jabeur in fearless display at 2024 Australian Open

The teen takeover at the 2024 Australian Open has shifted into turbo thanks to a fearless performance from 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva, who shocked former world No. 2 Ons Jabeur, 6-0, 6-2 to score her first Top 10 victory and reach the third round in Melbourne.

"I was really nervous before the match," Andreeva clarified on court despite her nerveless appearance. "I'm really inspired by Ons, by the way she plays. Before I started to play on the WTA tour, I always watched her matches, and now I had a chance to play against her.

"After the match, she came to me, she wished me luck," she added in her post-match press conference. "I just know that she is who she is and she never change. That's what I like about her."

Andreeva has listed Jabeur among her idols, but the No. 6 seed was left looking up to the Russian teenager after an exuberant performance left her without answers under Rod Laver Arena's closed roof, Andreeva clinching the upset in 54 minutes flat.

A year ago, Andreeva was in tears after finishing runner-up in the finals of the juniors, but quickly gained momentum on the pro-level after going on a 16-match winning streak that took her into the fourth round of the Mutua Madrid Open. Then just 15, she continued to impress throughout the spring, pushing Coco Gauff to three sets at Roland Garros and reaching the second week of Wimbledon.

"I just feel like I'm a bit more mature than I was before," she said through teasing from on-court interviewer Laura Robson, who reminded Andreeva she's still only 16. "But last year, I was 15! This year, I think I changed a lot, and I think you can see that on the court."

Just yesterday, former world No. 1 Dinara Safina hailed the fearlessness displayed by the teenager throughout her rise up the rankings, having clinched the WTA Newcomer of the Year Award last fall.

“The best thing about being 16 is that you have no fear,” says Safina, who made her Grand Slam debut as a 16-year-old in 2002. “You have no doubt. You just go out there and you play your best. You really don’t think about anything else.”

Andreeva certainly appeared to be playing with a clear head against Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam finalist who was utterly out of sorts as she failed to win any of the first six games.

"Honestly in the first set, I showed amazing tennis and I didn't expect it from myself," Andreeva said. "I just wanted to go on this big court for the second time and enjoy tennis and enjoy the time. And I did!"

An audacious forehand winner got the Tunisian trailblazer on the board to start the second set, but Andreeva was unmoved and reeled off the next five gams to put her on the brink of victory.

Serving for the match, the unseeded challenger put in some strong serves that Jabeur missed wildly, putting her over the finish line in under an hour.

Standing between Andreeva, a noted animal lover, and a spot in the second will be one of two unseeded players, as countrywoman Kamila Rakhimova and Diane Parry face off later on Tuesday, weather permitting.