Wimbledon, UK – In her first appearance on the London grass, Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva became the latest player to punch a ticket to the fourth round of the Wimbledon Open on Sunday.
The 16-year-old Andreeva, the new rising star of women’s tennis, beat compatriot Anastasia Potapova, the world number 23 and 22nd seed, in straight sets 6-2, 7-5.
In doing so, Coco Gaffin became the youngest player to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2019.
Andreeva, who advanced to the third round of the women’s singles at last month’s French Open, came from behind 1-4 in the second set to win.
“I erased the 1-4 loss, so I feel really good,” Andreeva said in an on-court interview, explaining how she remains calm.
“Today, honestly, even though I wanted to show emotion, I couldn’t because I was suffocating at almost every point. I couldn’t really show emotion,” added Andreeva, who is playing her second Grand Slam as a professional.
Those emotions finally came out, though, as Andreeva regained her composure for a few seconds as she settled into her chair and covered her face with a Wimbledon-identified towel.
Andreeva will next face 25th-seeded American Madison Keys in the quarterfinals.
Twenty minutes earlier, Marketa Vondrousova had become the first women’s singles player to reach the quarter-finals. She beat 32nd seed Marie Bouskova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
American Jessica Pegula, the fourth seed, also advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Lesia Surenko of Ukraine. Pegula meets Vondrousova in the quarterfinals.
The missing piece in the men’s singles fourth round was filled following the victory of 21st seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. Dimitrov defeated American Francis Tiafoe 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the opener on Saturday.
His next opponent will be Denmark’s Holger Roone, the sixth seed.
World number one Ika Swiadek of Poland will face Swiss Belinda Bencic later on Sunday on Center Court.
After this match, seven-time champion Novak Djokovic crosses swords with Hubert Hurcox at the All England Club.
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