Mirra Andreeva on Saturday celebrated her 16th birthday by setting up a Madrid Open showdown with world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, saying she has “nothing to lose.”
The Russian teenager, ranked a lowly 194, eased to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Magda Linette to reach the fourth round, after ousting 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and world No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia earlier in the tournament.
“I didn’t expect to be here and playing Sabalenka in the round of 16,” Andreeva told Tennis Channel.
Photo: AFP
“I’m not really surprised with my level, because I know the way I can play on the court ... but of course, I didn’t expect to be here and go this far,” she said.
Andreeva broke Polish player Linette, world No. 19, for 2-0 in the first set, and although the 17th seed broke back, the Russian did it again for a 4-2 lead and served it out.
The teen broke again in the first game of the second set and converted her second match point to break Linette again and clinch victory.
Andreeva, a wildcard, became only the third 15-year-old to win a WTA 1000 main draw match when she beat Fernandez on Wednesday.
She finished as runner-up at the junior Australian Open in January, while Sabalenka won the women’s title for her breakthrough Grand Slam.
“I have nothing to lose,” Andreeva said, as she looked ahead to facing the Belarusian. “I just have to go there and show the best tennis I can. There is no pressure at all for me. There is some pressure on her, I think, because she’s going to play a 16-year-old girl.”
Sabalenka beat resilient wildcard Camila Osorio 6-4, 7-5.
World No. 6 Coco Gauff suffered a surprise third round defeat at the hands of Paula Badosa, losing 6-3, 6-0.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2019 Madrid runner-up, cracked 35 winners to defeat former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/5).
Thiem, now ranked 93 in the world after a lengthy battle with a wrist injury, battled gamely, but succumbed on the Greek’s fourth match point.
In a remarkable serving performance, fifth-ranked Tsitsipas hit 39 straight first serves from late in the opening set to early in the third.
“That’s fantastic. Thirty-nine is a lot,” Tsitsipas said. “That’s a positive mark for me. I think it’s just pure relaxation and focus.”
World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev saw off Italy’s Andrea Vavassori 6-4, 6-3 to also reach the third round, while Dusan Lajovic earned a surprise win over world No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5).
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