Now 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva is writing an incredible story at the 2023 Madrid Open and it will continue also in the round of 16.
The teenager entered the WTA 1000 tournament in the Spanish capital as 15 years old and in the first round, she stunned the 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez. Andreeva's journey continued with another impressive victory when she beat world no. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round of the event.
But the young Russian had to prepare for her third-round match and also postpone birthday celebrations. In her third match in Madrid, she took on the 17th-seeded Magda Linette from Poland and it was a match that was played on her 16th birthday.
Andreeva entered the match on a 13-match winning streak after previously winning two back-to-back ITF titles and she won all four sets in her first two matches in Madrid. On the other hand, Linette had to fight in her opening match against Marketa Vondrousva and the teenager wanted to use more better form and shorter previous match to her advantage.
She did that well in the opening set, winning the first three games and building a solid 3-0 lead, needed for a confidence against another difficult opponent. And although Linette attempted a comeback with one recovered break, Andreeva soon put a stop to that as she broke again and after two comfortable holds of serve, won the first set 6-3.
Linette totally missed the start of the second set, losing the first six rallies and that was everything that the 16-year-old needed to build big enough lead also in the second set. Andreeva quickly lead 2-0 and she maintained her advantage throughout the second set.
Although the Russian faced two break points in the fourth game, she saved both and after adding another break in the ninth game of the second set, she own the match 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the fourth round of the 2023 Madrid Open.
In the next round, she will face the most difficult opponent that she ever faced in her young career. The most-recent Grand Slam champion, and also former champion in Madrid, Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Camila Osorio earlier on the day.
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