Sweet-sixteen prodigy through to fourth round
Mirra Andreeva beat Anastasia Potapova in the third round of Wimbledon on Sunday. Credit: Getty Images
Sixteen-year-old Mirra Andreeva, playing at Wimbledon for the first time, earned the final spot in the fourth round of the grass court grand slam tournament on Sunday, reports AP News.
The Russian qualifier is the latest teen sensation in tennis – and she isn’t disappointing at the All England Club.
Andreeva is the youngest player since Coco Gauff in 2019 to reach the women’s fourth round. She reached the third round at this year’s French Open in her first major tournament.
Despite trailing 4-1 in the second set, Andreeva beat 22nd-seeded Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5 on court three.
“I came back from 1-4, so of course I feel great,” Andreeva said on court before explaining how she keeps her cool.
“Today, honestly, even if I wanted to show some emotions, I honestly, I couldn’t because I was out of breath almost every point. I really couldn’t show any emotions.”
They came out after, though, when Andreeva sat in her chair and pulled her purple Wimbledon towel up over her face for a few seconds to regain her composure.
Andreeva will next face tour veteran Madison Keys for a spot in the quarter-finals.
The third-round victory came 21 minutes after Marketa Vondrousova became the first player to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Vondrousova defeated 32nd-seeded Marie Bouzkova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula also reached the quarter-finals. The 29-year-old American beat Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-3 and will next face Vondrousova.
This year is only the second time play is officially scheduled for the middle Sunday at Wimbledon. Four times in the past, in 1991, 1997, 2004 and 2016, organizers used the day to deal with a backlog of matches.
The last man to reach the fourth round was 21st-seeded Grigor Dimitrov. He beat Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in a match that started on Saturday. He will next face sixth-seeded Holger Rune.