If being a fast learner is a prerequisite for a potential champion, Mirra Andreeva fits the bill perfectly. Beaten in the first round here a year ago, the 18-year-old Russian defeated Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-3 on Monday to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time, with the promise of much more to come.
Taking the ball early to deny the American time, she changed the pace, as she loves to do, and manoeuvred her opponent into uncomfortable positions from which mistakes flowed. Andreeva is the youngest player to reach this stage at Wimbledon since the Czech Nicole Vaidisova in 2007 and on her Centre Court debut, with Roger Federer watching from the Royal Box, she was so much in the moment that she didn’t even realise she had won.
“It’s something crazy,” said Andreeva, who will now play Belinda Bencic, the Swiss who also reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final, having become a mother in April last year.
“I was super-nervous, playing first time on Centre Court. I really tried my best not to look in the box because I knew that I would lose focus, as I did, at 4-1 [in the second set], [when] I saw Roger and Mirka [his wife]. It’s been one of my dreams to see you in real life, so when I saw both of you, I got really, really nervous. But I’m super-happy I managed to stay focused.”
The great thing about young players is that they seem to improve almost week on week, improvements in their game appearing from one tournament to another. Coached by Conchita Martínez, the 1994 singles champion, Andreeva has been tipped for the top for a while but has really hit her stride this year, winning the Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells.
Her serve has also become a real weapon. She dropped only two points on first serve in the opening set, giving her the platform to show off her full game, from drop shots and angles to power and lobs. Tennis IQ, they call it. She was 5-1 up before Navarro knew what had hit her and she closed it out two games later.
A brilliant point, which ended with a flicked forehand pass, gave Andreeva the break in the opening game of the second set and though Navarro broke back immediately, the Russian broke twice more to open up a 4-1 lead. The American nabbed one of the breaks back but Andreeva then broke to love for victory, even if she didn’t know it at first.
“I just kept telling myself I’m facing break points, tried to tell myself I’m not the one who’s up in the score,” she said. “I think that helped me to stay focused and in the end I completely forgot the score. I’m happy I did it because I think I would be three times more nervous on a match point.”
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Belinda Bencic acknowledges the crowd after beating Ekaterina Alexandrova. Photograph: James Marsh/Shutterstock
It’s a little over 14 months since Bencic gave birth to her daughter and on Monday, the Swiss beat the No 18 seed, Ekaterina Alexandrova, 7-6 (4), 6-4. It’s her fourth major quarter-final in all but first since 2021 and her first away from the US Open.
“Finally I managed to do the next step to go to the quarter-finals,” Bencic said. “I think it’s just really a result of the work we put in and also the mindset that I have now. Of course, you could see I’m trying my best to win. I’m fighting with everything I have on the court. I still want to win very badly. It’s much different now and I am surprised, but of course, I’m not going to complain about it.”
Liudmila Samsonova is also through to her first Wimbledon quarter-final after beating Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-5, 7-5. The Spaniard had a set point at 5-4 in the opener but 19th seed Samsonova came through.
