(Wimbledon) In her first appearance on the London lawn, Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva was the last player to earn her ticket to the fourth round of the Wimbledon Open tennis tournament on Sunday.
A new rising star in women’s tennis, 16-year-old Andreeva pulled off a feat with a straight-set 6-2, 7-5 win over compatriot Anastasia Potapova, the world’s 23rd player and 22nd seed.
In doing so, she became the youngest player since Coco Gauff in 2019 to advance to the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Andreeva, who reached the third round of women’s singles at the French Open last month, scored the triumph despite trailing 1-4 in the second set.
“I erased a 1-4 setback so of course I feel very good,” Andreeva said in an on-court interview before explaining how she stays calm.
“Today, honestly, even though I had wanted to show emotion, I was unable to because I was out of breath almost every point. I really couldn’t show emotions,” added Andreeva, who is making her second Grand Slam appearance as a pro.
Those emotions finally came out, however, when Andreeva sat back in her chair and covered her face with her Wimbledon-identified towel for a few seconds while she regained her poise.
In her next match, Andreeva will face 25th seeded American Madison Keys for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Twenty minutes earlier, Marketa Vondrousova had become the first women’s singles player to earn a place in the quarterfinals. She did so with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over 32nd-seeded Marie Bouzkova.
Fourth-seeded American Jessica Pegula also earned her spot in the quarter-finals after defeating Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-3. Pegula will meet Vondrousova in the quarter-finals.
The missing piece in the fourth round of the men’s singles was filled following the victory of Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, seeded 21st. In a match that started on Saturday, Dimitrov defeated American Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
His next opponent will be Denmark’s Holger Rune, seeded sixth.
Later Sunday, on the center court, the Polish Iga Swiatek, world number one, must face the Swiss Belinda Bencic.
After this match, Novak Djokovic, seven-time champion at the All England Club, will cross swords with Pole Hubert Hurkacz.