Teen sensation Andreeva knocks out another seed, Linette, to move into fourth round; Sabalenka next

Teenage Russian sensation Mirra Andreeva continued her incredible dream WTA Tour debut as she beat another seed – Pole Magda Linette, the No 17 seed – 6-3, 6-3 – to advance to the fourth round of the Madrid Open at the Caja Magica on Saturday afternoon.

The world No 194 celebrated her 16th birthday with another brilliant performance and will face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, next.

“I didn’t expect to be here and playing Sabalenka in the round of 16,” Andreeva told Tennis Channel. “I’m not really surprised with my level, because I know the way I can play on the court. But of course, I didn’t expect to be here and go this far.”

Though she has played – and won – a couple of ITF events in 2023 since reaching the final of the Australian Open, this is her first WTA Tour competition.

Taking on Sabalenka, who won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, is another major step up, but Andreeva’s looking forward to it.

“I have nothing to lose,” Andreeva said. “I just have to go there and show the best tennis I can. There is no pressure at all for me. There is some pressure on her, I think, because she’s going to play a 16-year-old girl. Most probably, we will play on some stadium (court), so I’m excited to do that.”

In the previous rounds, the 16-year-old Russian defeated Canadian Leylah Fernandez (6-3, 6-4) and Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, the No 13 seed (7-6 (6), 6-3).

Linette, ranked No 19, edged out Czech qualifier Marketa Vondrousova (7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4).

Madrid WTA 1000, other third-round results (Caja Magica, clay, USD 7.652.174, most recent results first):

• Qinwen Zheng vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova
• Barbora Krejcikova vs. Xiyu Wang
• Iga Swiatek vs. Bernarda Pera
• Petra Martic vs. Anna Kalinskaya
• Jessica Pegula vs. Marie Bouzkova
• Veronika Kudermetova vs. Anastasia Potapova
• Lesia Tsurenko vs. Daria Kasatkina
• Martina Trevisan vs. Alycia Parks
• Rebeka Masarova vs. Maria Sakkari
• Caroline Garcia vs. Mayar Sherif
• Coco Gauff vs. Paula Badosa: saturday
• Liudmila Samsonova (14) beat Jelena Ostapenko (19): 6-2, 6-0
• Aryna Sabalenka beat Camila Osorio (WC): 6-4, 7-5
• Elise Mertens (24) beat Jule Niemeier: 6-3, 6-4
• Irina-Camelia Begu (31) beat Shelby Rogers (33): 7-5, 6-2