By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday April 29, 2023
16-year-old Mirra Andreeva continued sending shockwaves through the Madrid draw on Saturday.
Photo Source: TTV
As far as sweet 16 parties go, Mirra Andreeva had a pretty good one. The rising star notched her third straight Top 50 win and became the youngest player in history to reach a WTA 1000 round of 16.
Not bad at all.
Andreeva defeated Poland’s Magda Linette in a tactical 6-3 6-3 battle on a sunny Saturday in Madrid, booking her 16th consecutive win (across all levels) and setting up her first Top 10 clash, which will be against World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round.
Andreeva, who has also defeated 38th-ranked Leylah Fernandez and 14th-ranked Beatriz Haddad Maia in the Spanish capital, is a slick-moving, steady-hitting tactician who has a game well suited to clay. Her numbers bear it out. Since the start of 2022 Andreeva is 34-4 on clay across all levels, according to Tennis Abstract.
Ranked 194 this week (but headed at least 50 spots higher), Andreeva made the victory look relatively easy against 19th-ranked Linette. Though she is blossoming in a career year, Linette struggled to hit the mark on Saturday. The Pole, who reached her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open in January, handed a lot of points to the youngest via unforced errors.
Not to say that Andreeva didn’t play a starring role in drawing those errors. The birthday girl hit with consistent depth, pushed pace with her backhand, and rarely made errors or hit short. It was a solid showing from Andreeva on all fronts.
Andreeva defends well, and we will surely get a better look at that defense when she faces Sabalenka, who is a daunting as they come when it comes to pure power.
Thus far the rising talent has passed every test she has been given. She’s also up to 142 in the WTA live rankings.
Not a bad birthday at all…
Gauff Falls to Badosa
Coco Gauff loves the clay and is a wizard on it, as she proved last year when she reached her maiden Grand Slam final at Roland-Garros. But that was not the Gauff we saw today, as the 19-year-old American struggled to impose herself and went gently boxed out of Madrid by hometown darling Paula Badosa, 6-3, 6-0.
Both players excel on the clay, but it was 2021 Madrid semifinalist Badosa that had the court tilted in her favor. The Spaniard improved to 3-1 against Gauff in their first ever meeting on clay.
Badosa’s semifinal in 2021 at Madrid still stands as the best performance by a Spanish woman, and the best performance by a women’s single wild card in tournament history.
Badosa jumps to 13-6 on the season, while Gauff falls to 17-7.
Sherif Tops Garcia
Egypt’s Mayar Sherif continues turning heads in Madrid. She loves Spain, loves the clay and never shies away from a grinding battle. Today she earned her first Top 5 win, taking out France’s Caroline Garcia, 7-6(2), 6-3.
Sherif is the first woman from Egypt to win a WTA title and a Grand Slam singles match. The 26-year-old, who trains in Spain, played college tennis at Pepperdine, where she reached the NCAA semifinals.
She will face Elise Mertens, who toppled Jule Niemeier on Saturday, in the round of 16.