Andreeva locks last 16 berth on Wimbledon debut with sublime win over Potapova, faces Keys next

A brilliant performance from Mirra Andreeva saw her beat fellow Russian Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5. She’ll play Madison Keys in the last 16

Mirra Andreeva through to last 16 on her Wimbledon debut in 2023 Action Plus / Panoramic

Jamie Malachy

July 9, 2023

Wimbledon •Third round • completed

See draw

A. PotapovavsM. Andreeva

Mirra Andreeva has written another captivating chapter in what is undoubtedly one of the stories of the season. The 16-year-old has reached the fourth round of Wimbledon on her debut by beating Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5 in front of a delighted Court 3 crowd.

Prior to Wimbledon, Andreeva had never played a competitive match on grass in her young career. Having come through three challenging rounds of qualifying at Roehampton to reach the Wimbledon main draw for the first time, the teenager has dazzled the South London crowds with tenacious hitting and indomitable spirit to sail through to a maiden second week of a Grand Slam.

A compelling battle between two young talents

Potapova put up a courageous fight with some ferocious hitting of her own, but there was little the 22-year-old could do in the face of such high-quality opposition from her compatriot.

After a relatively one-sided set that started in nervy circumstances, with both players exchanging breaks of serve, Potapova steadied the ship in the second for what turned into a fascinating and highly-entertaining tussle.

The world No. 23 found her trademark fighting spirit to hit back and move 4-1 ahead in that second stanza, before Andreeva broke back to move the set back on serve.

An epic ninth game saw Potapova save five break points (three saved consecutively from 0-40 down), to nudge 5-4 ahead following a ten-minute-long game.

From there, one would have thought the momentum was now with the more experienced player. But Mirra Andreeva is clearly no ordinary competitor. The teenager responded by holding serve, before upping the pressure to break in the eleventh game and serve out for a truly monumental win.

Sensational Andreeva

It is hard to pinpoint exactly what is most impressive about this young Russian’s game, as she does everything so well. But her calm, methodical approach to achieve the biggest win of her career was particularly striking.

So too was her tenacity in defence, constantly asking Potapova to play one more ball, before stepping inside the baseline and turning that defence into attack in lightning-quick speed.

Put simply, Andreeva was sensational.

While her tennis does most of the talking, Mirra Andreeva has also captured the hearts and minds of all crowds she has played in front of.

There was a similar buzz around her when – again as a qualifier – she made the third round of Roland-Garros last month, taking a set off Coco Gauff before eventually succumbing to the quality of hitting from the American.

But Andreeva made sure there was no repeat of a third round exit, as she upped the intensity in this match to stamp her authority on proceedings and send out a strong message to the rest of the WTA field at SW19.

Madison Keys lies in wait

There will be another step up in class awaiting the 16-year-old when she takes on recent Eastbourne champion and 25th seed Madison Keys in the next round. That match is guaranteed to be on one of Wimbledon’s hallowed show courts – an atmosphere Andreeva has yet to experience.

But this young woman is not just here to make up the numbers. Such is her precocious talent, Andreeva already has the game to threaten the world’s elite.

The future of women’s tennis has arrived in emphatic style.

That future is called Mirra Andreeva.

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