Mirra Andreeva becomes first tennis player, male or female, to win 20 matches this year

Mirra Andreeva made a winning debut at the Miami Open on Friday, cruising through her first career match at the WTA 1000 event against countrywoman Veronika Kudermetova, 6-0, 6-2.

And it was a special victory for the 17-year-old, as it made her the first tennis player—male or female—to win 20 matches this year.

Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek have the next-most wins among the women with 19, while Felix Auger-Aliassime leads the men with 17.

MOST WINS THIS YEAR, WOMEN (tour-level):

• 20: Mirra Andreeva (20-3)
• 19: Madison Keys (19-2)
• 19: Iga Swiatek (19-5)
• 18: Aryna Sabalenka (18-4)
• 17: Clara Tauson (17-5)

MOST WINS THIS YEAR, MEN (tour-level):

• 17: Felix Auger-Aliassime (17-6)
• 15: Carlos Alcaraz (15-3) [playing later today]
• 15: Alex de Minaur (15-5)
• 14: Francisco Cerundolo (14-6)
• 14: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (14-7)
• 14: Zizou Bergs (14-7)

Andreeva wasn't just playing her first career match in Miami, she was also playing Kudermetova, a former Top 10 player, for the first time—but she passed both tests with flying colors, reeling off the first nine games for a 6-0, 3-0 lead before Kudermetova finally held to get on the board, and she held her next service game too, but that was it as Andreeva broke again in the final game to seal a 68-minute victory.

"Honestly, I felt like I still need a little bit more time to get used to the conditions, so I just tried to put as many balls in the court as I can, and tried to defend," she said afterwards. "She was serving great and hitting really deep and great shots, so I just had to hang in there.

"But it felt good, I'll be honest."

Andreeva finished the match with 15 winners to 9 unforced errors.

It wasn't just her 20th win of the year, it was also her 13th win in a row, a streak entirely at the WTA 1000 level—she went 6-0 to win Dubai and 6-0 to win Indian Wells, the two biggest titles of her career.

Awaiting the No. 11-seeded Andreeva in the third round will be No. 17-seeded Amanda Anisimova, who also cruised through her opening match in Miami on Friday, defeating Egypt's Mayar Sherif, 6-2, 6-2.

Between them, Andreeva and Anisimova have actually won all of the WTA 1000 events so far this year, with the American having won the biggest title of her career in Doha right before Andreeva won Dubai.

They'll be playing against each other for the first time.