In her debut appearance at Wimbledon, 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva demonstrated remarkable maturity throughout the week. However, on Monday, her lack of experience became apparent.
Having triumphed in all six of her grass-court matches to reach the fourth round at the All England Club as a Russian qualifier, Andreeva couldn’t maintain her advantage against the 25th-seeded Madison Keys. Despite claiming the first set and securing a commanding 3-0 lead in the second, Andreeva saw her advantage slip away as Keys staged a comeback. At one point, feeling frustrated, Andreeva vented her emotions by throwing her racket, resulting in a warning from Swedish chair umpire Louise Azemar Engzell.
In the climactic moment of the match, Andreeva slipped while making a play for a ball, resulting in her racket once again soaring out of her grasp.
Responding to this second instance of a thrown racket, Engzell penalized the Russian by docking her a point, subsequently granting Keys a match point. Andreeva contested the decision, passionately pleading her case.
“I didn’t throw the racket. I fell,” Andreeva asserted to Engzell. “I slid, and then I fell.”
Nevertheless, the call stood, and Keys capitalized on the opportunity, ultimately sealing the match and securing her spot in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.
“Stepping onto the court, you recognize that she’s an incredibly talented player. But you don’t want to be the player who loses to her and allows her to advance to her first quarterfinal,” Keys remarked on the court. “I’ve fallen short on a few occasions, so it’s fantastic to be back in the quarterfinals here at Wimbledon.”
While Keys has reached the semifinals in the other three Grand Slam tournaments, including a remarkable journey to the final at the U.S. Open in 2017, her prior quarterfinal appearance at the All England Club concluded at that stage.
Andreeva, the latest prodigy to make waves in the world of tennis, held the distinction of being the youngest player in the Wimbledon tournament. With her remarkable performance, she aimed to become the youngest player to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since Anna Kournikova in 1997.
Keys, on the other hand, will move on to face either second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka or No. 21 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the next round. Sabalenka, who claimed victory at the Australian Open this year, boasts an impressive record of 15-1 in major tournaments in 2023.
In the women’s division, defending champion Elena Rybakina secured her spot in the quarterfinals when her opponent Beatriz Haddad Maia retired from their match due to a hip injury. Rybakina held a commanding 4-1 lead at the time.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the action continues as seven-time champion Novak Djokovic resumes his fourth-round match against Hubert Hurkacz on Centre Court. Following that, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will take on 2022 finalist Ons Jabeur, followed by top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz facing 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini.