Teenager Andreeva cruises into Wimbledon last 16
Teenager Mirra Andreeva showed why she is one of the hottest prospects in the sport after moving into Wimbledon's fourth round with a comfortable win.
Seventh seed Andreeva, 18, outclassed American opponent Hailey Baptiste in a 6-1 6-3 victory on Court One.
Advertisement
Russia's Andreeva reached her first Grand Slam semi-final at the French Open last month and is aiming to surpass that on the Wimbledon grass.
She has reached the last 16 for the second time in her career, having previously done the same in 2023.
"Before I played today I told myself, 'Just go out there and do something'," said Andreeva, who is making only her third appearance at the All England Club.
"I always expect something from myself but I always try to let myself go and enjoy.
"I feel with every match I play, my level is rising."
Showing supreme movement and clinical ball-striking, Andreeva breezed through the opening set in 31 minutes.
Advertisement
Baptiste, ranked 55th in the world, was willed on in the second set by an enthusiastic crowd who wanted to see a true contest.
When Andreeva broke for a 3-1 lead, the result looked a formality. Baptiste instantly broke back to halt Andreeva's progress but lost serve again as the world number seven secured a straightforward win in one hour and 18 minutes.
Under the tutelage of former SW19 champion Conchita Martinez, she has already won two WTA 1,000 titles - the rung of tournaments below the majors - in Dubai and Indian Wells this season.
Her impressive progress is demonstrated by the fact she has won 35 tour-level main-draw matches this year - a tally only bettered by world number one Aryna Sabalenka (44) and five-time major winner Iga Swiatek (37).
Advertisement
A much tougher test than 23-year-old Baptiste awaits Andreeva next, however.
Reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and American 10th seed Emma Navarro meet later on Saturday for the right to face her.
Former champion Rybakina knocked out in rain-affected match
The early play on Saturday at Wimbledon was affected by rain [Getty Images]
Another big seed was sent tumbling out of Wimbledon as former champion Elena Rybakina suffered a straight-set defeat by Clara Tauson in a match that took more than four hours to complete because of rain delays.
Eleventh seed Rybakina, who won the Championships in 2022, was beaten 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 by Denmark's Tauson, who knocked out former British number one Heather Watson in the opening round.
Advertisement
Rain initially caused this match on the exposed court two to be suspended at 4-4, but once play resumed two hours later it was a tight contest as neither player could be separated, before Tauson saved two set points and then took the opener in the tie-break.
The Dane continued her momentum by breaking Rybakina's first service game in the second set, before the players went off the court as rain fell once more with Tauson leading 4-2.
But this delay was only around 15 minutes and Tauson returned to the court to seal another break and close out the win.
Tauson, who had never won on grass before this year, will next face eighth seed Swiatek.
Advertisement
"Thanks to the crowd it amazing to play here today even though it was a little rainy," she said.
"Before this grass season had started I had never won a match on grass, so I am super proud."
More than half of the seeded players at Wimbledon in the men's and women's draw have been knocked out.
'The ball is listening to me' - Swiatek has fun on grass
Poland's Swiatek continued her impressive form on grass this year as she defeated Danielle Collins 6-2 6-3 to reach the last 16.
The five-time Grand Slam champion has not fared well on this surface in recent years and only twice before reached the fourth round at SW19.
Advertisement
But it has been a different story so far this year and, after Swiatek reached the final of Bad Homburg last month, she has carried that momentum into Wimbledon.
Collins beat her in the Italian Open earlier this year, but the American was no match for the former world number one as a clinical Swiatek sealed the success in one hour and 15 minutes.
"I was in the zone. I knew I had to be brave, play fast," said the 24-year-old, who will face Tauson next.
"Honestly it is much more fun [on the grass] this year. The ball is listening to me. When it listens to me I don't need to do much. It is pretty smooth."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why is Trinity Rodman at Wimbledon? USWNT star in relationship with Ben Shelton
American Ben Shelton secured a top in the final 16 at Wimbledon on Sunday, June 5 — and he made some headlines in the process. Shelton, 22, became the youngest American man to make the final 16 at three majors in one season, dating back to Andy Roddick achieving the same feat in 2004. He has also won each of his three matches so far by straight sets. Advertisement REQUIRED READING: Ben Shelton, Trinity Rodman make relationship Instagram official The Florida native also shouted out his friends and family after his third-round win, which included another sports star in United States women's soccer star Trinity Rodman. Now, the No. 10-ranked player in the world is looking for his first grand slam victory, with his furthest finish being the semifinals at the U.S. Open in 2023 and Australian Open in 2025. Here's what to know of Shelton and Rodman's relationship, and why the U.S. soccer star is at Wimbledon cheering on Shelton: Why is Trinity Rodman at Wimbledon? Rodman, a forward for the Washington Spirit of the NWSL, has been at each of Shelton's Wimbledon matches. The two make quite the sports power couple. Advertisement The dynamic athletes went public with their relationship on March 18 after Shelton posted pictures to Instagram. Shelton even shouted out Rodman after his third-round win on July 5 over Marton Fucsovics. "It's not just been me here, I have a great team. My parents are here, my girlfriend's here," Shelton said as the ESPN broadcast panned to Shelton's parents and Rodman in the stands. Shelton also spoke with USA TODAY in April on his relationship with Rodman. "She's great," he said. "I think we're both very happy. And yeah, it's been cool getting to know her and spend time with her." Who is Trinity Rodman? Rodman is a 23-year-old soccer player who's one of the best scorers for the U.S. Women's National Team. Advertisement Rodman, the daughter of Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, scored three goals at the 2024 Paris Olympics to help lead the United States to a gold medal. She was also the youngest person ever drafted to the NWSL (18 years old) after going No. 2 overall to the Washington Spirit in 2021. The Guardian ranked Rodman the No. 5 player in the world in 2024, with fellow American forward Sophia Wilson at No. 3 on the list. Rodman's signature moment of her young USWNT career came in the knockout round against Japan, when she sent the U.S. to the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics after scoring an extra-time goal to win 1-0. Rodman was initially enrolled to play soccer at Washington State but opted to forgo her college career to play professionally in the NWSL. Her brother, DJ Rodman, played basketball at Washington State and USC. Advertisement This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trinity Rodman at Wimbledon: Why USWNT star is at Grand Slam event
CNN
31 minutes ago
- CNN
Wimbledon hit with electronic line call controversy as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova says game was ‘stolen' from her
Wimbledon organizers have apologized and explained that 'human error' was the reason behind the electronic line-calling system being turned off during a match on Sunday. During the first set of the fourth-round clash between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sonay Kartal on Centre Court, a backhand from Kartal went long but there was no 'out' call from the electronic system, which has replaced human line umpires at Wimbledon this year. Pavlyuchenkova, who was one point away from winning that game, stopped playing with the ball landing outside the court. Umpire Nico Helwerth called for the match to be paused, while the automated system said 'stop, stop,' leading to confusion from both players and the fans in attendance. Helwerth informed the crowd that he was going to check if the system was 'up and running' before spending time on the phone. After a short delay, he said that the electronic system 'was unfortunately unable to track the last point,' which was subsequently replayed. Kartal went on to win the point and break Pavlyuchenkova to take a 5-4 lead. In the change of ends, the Russian could be heard saying to Helwerth: 'You took the game away from me … they stole the game from me. They stole it.' The automated system did not pick up on balls landing out on three occasions in the game, with Helwerth calling the other two. The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (AELTC) said that Helwerth did not know the system had not been running. After the match had finished – with Pavlyuchenkova eventually winning 7-6(3), 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals – a spokesperson for the AELTC said that the system had been deactivated in error by 'those operating the system' and that a full investigation had taken place. 'We have apologized to the players involved,' the spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. 'We continue to have full confidence in the accuracy of the ball tracking technology. 'The live ELC (electronic line-calling) system relies on the Hawk-Eye operators, the Review Official and the technology to work in harmony. This did not happen. In this instance there was a human error and as a consequence we have fully reviewed our processes and made the appropriate changes.' It added that Helwerth had 'followed the established process' of replaying the point if the system goes down and it's unclear whether the ball was in or out. After booking her spot in the next round, Pavlyuchenkova called the whole situation 'confusing,' in particular when the umpire ordered the point to be replayed instead of awarding it to her. 'I think it's good to raise this subject for the future,' Pavlyuchenkova told reporters. 'Because if anything like that happens in a very important moment of the match, I think we should have a wire system like in football. Then it's clear for everybody and we can move on right away instead of just guessing.' The automated line-calling system has been a big talking point at this year's Wimbledon. Great Britain's top-ranked players – Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu – have both expressed their doubts about the system, with Raducanu calling it 'dodgy.' Switzerland's Belina Bencic said that the new automated system has been a topic of discussion among players in the locker room. The introduction of technology to replace line judges at Wimbledon follows many other tournaments around the world, including the Australian Open and the US Open. Following her win on Sunday, Pavlyuchenkova said that Helwerth 'probably was scared to take such a big decision' with the technology not working and called for more human intervention. 'That's why we have a chair umpire,' she said. 'Otherwise, I think soon let's just play without them and then we're going to have everything automatic. I think we are losing a little bit of the charm of actually having human beings, ballboys. 'Like during Covid, we didn't have ballboys. It just becomes a little bit weird and robot sort of orientated.'
USA Today
37 minutes ago
- USA Today
Ben Shelton advances to Round 4 of Wimbledon Championships
For the third time this year, Ben Shelton has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam event; this time at the Wimbledon Championship. The former Florida Gators and current No. 10-ranked player in the world defeated Australian Rinky Hijikata in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 in Round 2 on Thursday/Friday, and he took down Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 in the third round on Saturday. Shelton reached the fourth round of Wimbledon a year ago only to fall in straight sets to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. He'll have to defeat Italian Lorenzo Sonego to reach the quarter-finals this year, and his prize is a rematch against Sinner with even more at stake. Round 2: Shelton def. Hijikata (6-2, 7-5, 6-4) Shelton once again relied on his powerful left-handed score to cruise through the second round on Thursday. He hit 47 winners and 11 aces while winning 75% of first serves. A controversial suspension of play interrupted the dominant win, however. Both players asked for a stoppage earlier in the match due to fading light. When the umpire made the call with just one round left, both players and the fans erupted in protest. Shelton channeled those frustrations into a win the very next day. He only needed one minute to secure the win, making good on the shot he called while pleading with the umpire the night before. Round 3: Shelton def. Fucsovics (6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2) Shelton continued his dominant run through the first weekend of Wimbledon by winning 81% of his first serves, delivering nine aces and zero double faults. It only took two hours for Shelton to advance, which is beneficial after losing a day of rest thanks to the stoppage during Round 2. During the match, Shelton sent serves at 145, 146, 147 and finally 148 mph. That would have broken the Wimbledon record for the fastest serve of all time, but Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard had a 153 mph serve earlier in the week. 'I had a lot of fun,' Shelton said. 'It's always special playing at Wimbledon. This is my third time playing on Court No 1. Hopefully I get a few more matches on one of these two big courts. I'm trying to make my way to Centre Court. Maybe I'll get there one day.' Do what he says, Morgan Stanley On a more lighthearted note, Shelton had some fun at a major investment bank's expense after his Round 3 win. "I've been playing well this week. It's not just been me here. I have a great team. My parents are here. My girlfriend's here. Also, my sister's here. She's been here for every match that I've played this tournament so far. She's been the lucky charm," Shelton said. He made a plea to get his sister, Emma, some more time off work, with hopes of keeping the good luck rolling. "If any of y'all have some (connections) and get her a couple extra days off so she can (stay). We can keep this rolling, that'd be great," he said. The brief saga had a happy ending with Shelton posting an Instagram story seemingly confirming his sister's paid time off being approved. Smart move, Morgan Stanley. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
