Teenager Andreeva ousts Tauson in three sets for Bad Homburg quarter-final spot
BAD HOMBURG, Germany :Third seed Mirra Andreeva survived a first set slip-up to battle past Denmark's Clara Tauson 3-6 6-3 6-1 on Wednesday for a spot in the Bad Homburg Open quarter-finals.
With Wimbledon starting on Monday, Russian teenager Andreeva got a 109-minute workout on grass against the big-serving world number 23 before racing through the third set.
"I knew this match would be tough. This was the fourth time we played this season. This year we have played on every surface," Andreeva said
"I just tried to stay calm - I don't know if I managed - and fight for every point. I just fight."
Andreeva, seventh in the world, found herself in trouble when she was broken in the seventh game with power baseliner Tauson going on to win the first set.
The Russian, who kept punching her thigh in frustration throughout the match, initially had trouble controlling the Dane's powerful and accurate serve but did earn her first break of the match to go 4-2 up in the second set and level.
She did not have to wait long for another break and she got three in a row to cruise through the third set.
She will next face Czech Linda Noskova, who ousted Donna Vekic of Croatia, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, 2-6 6-2 6-4.
Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova battled past Maria Sakkari in three sets to book her quarter-final spot where she will face fourth-seed Iga Swiatek of Poland.
The world number 18 broke the Greek once in the first set but it was enough to win it 6-3.
Both players held serve with Sakkari improving her own to level after a successful tiebreak. But she failed to convert any of her eight break points throughout the match and conceded the third set to Alexandrova who unleashed a total of 13 aces.
Beatriz Haddad Maia needed five match points before subduing Ukraine's seventh-seed Elina Svitolina 3-6 6-4 7-6(7) in a tight match, with the Brazilian next facing Italian second seed Jasmine Paolini.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
25 minutes ago
- CNA
Only a British finalist, or his children, will bring Murray to Wimbledon this year
Andy Murray said he has no plans to attend Wimbledon this year unless a British player makes the final, or his children want to go. Murray, who won two of his three major titles at Wimbledon and ended Britain's 77-year wait for a men's singles champion at the grass-court Grand Slam in 2013, said he rarely attends tennis matches as a fan. "I don't have any plans to go," Murray, who lifted the title again in 2016, told British media. "I'm not working there. I don't go to watch tennis as a fan. But if one of my kids wanted to go along and watch, I obviously would take them. If a British player made the final I'd go. "I went to the Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz final a couple of years ago, just because I had a feeling it was going to be a great match. But I won't be there otherwise." Murray, who will be immortalised with a statue during Wimbledon's 150th anniversary in 2027, ended his playing career after the Paris Olympics before joining the coaching team of 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic ahead of the Australian Open. That partnership failed to yield any trophies and ended before the French Open. Murray said British men's tennis was in good hands and he expected Jack Draper to cope with the added pressure after winning at Indian Wells in March and climbing the rankings to fourth in the world. Draper will be seeded fourth when the Wimbledon main draw begins on Monday. "It'll be a little bit different this year coming in as a top seed but he'll deal with it well," Murray said.
CNA
25 minutes ago
- CNA
Monterrey coach Torrent wary of Dortmund threat after sealing last 16 berth
LOS ANGELES :Monterrey coach Domenec Torrent has warned his players that they face another huge challenge at the Club World Cup when they take on Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 in Atlanta on Monday. The Mexican side advanced to the knockout rounds after their 4-0 thrashing of Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds on Wednesday, with the win securing second place in Group E behind Inter Milan. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Monterrey, who have won the CONCACAF Champions Cup five times since 2011, will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of the club's formation on Saturday. They finished second in Group E after picking up their first win of the competition against Urawa having drawn with both Inter Milan and Argentina's River Plate. KEY QUOTES Monterrey coach Domenec Torrent: "Our next game, we know it's very hard. They're another European team that has won a lot of things, a lot of prizes and tournaments and championships in Germany and in Europe. "We've seen them before and at least I have a reference of what we're facing. "They are very sound. It's not exactly the same as Inter Milan, but it's very similar so we'll see what happens with our players, because some of them were on the bench - but we can make use of them - and another player had a cold. "Each game, for me, is like a game of chess, just to see how the opponent is moving the players and how we can do it. Basically, step by step. "We are going to have three or four days to prepare for this new game, which is excellent for us to showcase our football to the world, Mexican football and Monterrey football."
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Wimbledon men's singles: Three talking points
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz poses with ballgirls as he celebrates with the trophy after winning against Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka in their Queen's final. PHOTO: AFP LONDON – Can anyone stop two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or world No. 1 Jannik Sinner lifting the Wimbledon men's title? The two standout players in the world have gobbled up the past six Grand Slams between them, earlier in June playing out a French Open final for the ages. Novak Djokovic is the last of the 'Big Three' still standing, refusing to give up on his dream of a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, while Jack Draper shoulders British hopes. Here are three talking points ahead of the tournament, which starts on June 30. 1. Alcaraz-Sinner show Alcaraz is aiming to become just the fifth man to win at least three straight Wimbledon titles in the Open Era after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic. The Spaniard, who has beaten Djokovic in the past two finals, arrives at the All England Club fresh from winning Queen's for a second time, taking his grass-court trophy tally to four. The 22-year-old had said that 'grass-court mode is activated', a message that will send a shiver down the spines of his opponents. Sinner, 23, remains the world No. 1 and has impressed since returning from a three-month doping ban, reaching the final of the Italian Open and the French Open, both of which he lost to Alcaraz. Alcaraz stormed back from two sets down to beat Sinner in an epic Roland Garros final, securing a fifth successive victory against his Italian rival. Sinner then lost early at the Halle grass-court tournament but does have a strong track record at Wimbledon, reaching the semi-finals in 2023 and the quarter-finals last season. 2. Djokovic still eyeing history Djokovic is still dreaming of putting an exclamation point on his incredible career by becoming the most successful singles player in history. Currently the Serb is locked on 24 Grand Slams with the long-retired Margaret Court and has not won a Major since the 2023 US Open. He came up short against Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final in 2023 and 2024, though he beat his young rival in a captivating Olympic final on clay last year. Djokovic also has the added incentive of drawing level on a record eight men's Wimbledon singles titles with the retired Federer, the king of Centre Court. The 38-year-old, who won his 100th tour-level title in May in Geneva, first lifted the Wimbledon trophy in 2011, with his most recent triumph coming in 2022. The question is whether Djokovic, now ranked sixth in the world, can get past Alcaraz or Sinner at their best – he lost to Sinner in straight sets in the semi-finals at Roland Garros. 3. Can Draper take on Murray's mantle? Wimbledon this week announced plans to honour two-time champion Andy Murray with a statue – showing the esteem in which the retired Scot is held. The current British men's No. 1 is Draper, who has enjoyed a breakthrough season, winning his first ATP Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells and reaching the final in Madrid. The 23-year-old world No. 4 can boast previous wins against Alcaraz and Sinner. But he has never been beyond the second round at Wimbledon and has only reached one Grand Slam semi-final, at last year's US Open. Draper, who lost to Jiri Lehecka in the Queen's semi-finals, goes into Wimbledon in good heart. 'I've really felt the home support all week, it's a real advantage and it helps drive me on,' he said. 'But at the same time, I've got a job to do and I'm not thinking about pressures like that. 'I'm going to go into Wimbledon feeling great about myself, and I'll go in at a position I've been dreaming of since I was a little kid.' AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
