Andreeva, 18, into last 16; No. 11 Rybakina falls

Andreeva, 18, into last 16; No. 11 Rybakina falls

No. 7 Mirra Andreeva reached her third consecutive round of 16 at a major with a straight-sets win Saturday at Wimbledon, while former champion Elena Rybakina, the No. 11 seed, was ousted by No. 23 Clara Tauson 7-6 (6), 6-3 in a rain-interrupted third-round match.

Andreeva, 18, eased past unseeded American Hailey Baptiste 6-1, 6-3 to become the youngest woman to reach the last 16 in the first three majors of the season since Nicole Vaidisova did so in 2006 at 17 years old.

Amid a first week marked by upsets, Andreeva, the highest seed left in the bottom half of the women’s draw, has yet to drop a set in equaling her best run at the All England Club.

Baptiste, who made the third round in back-to-back majors after never advancing past the second round before that, was bidding to become the second unseeded American woman in the last decade to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon.

“Honestly, I was so focused today,” Andreeva, who is coached by 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, said. “I watched her first round and I knew it would be tough because she creates a lot of different stuff on the court and has a rocket of a forehand.

“With every match I play, I feel my level is rising.”

Andreeva, who is from Russia, awaits the winner of Saturday’s match between defending Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova (No. 17) and Emma Navarro, the highest-seeded American woman left in the draw at No. 10.

Rybakina, the 2022 champion, was making her fifth Wimbledon appearance, having reached the second week in each of the previous four.

She had never been defeated in straight sets at Wimbledon before Saturday.

Tauson, meanwhile, advanced to the round of 16 at a major for only the second time in her career, joining Caroline Wozniacki (23) as the only Danish players to reach that stage multiple times in the Open era.

“Before the grass season started, I’d never won a match on grass, so I’m super proud and happy with the way I played today,” said Tauson, previously winless in three main-draw appearances at the All England Club.

Tauson won 73% of points on her first serve — “my serve is always a big weapon” — in the statement victory over Rybakina, who had bested Tauson in their two prior meetings.

Tauson would play either No. 8 Iga Swiatek or unseeded American Danielle Collins for a spot in the quarterfinals. No Danish woman has ever reached the quarters at Wimbledon, with Holger Rune in 2023 the only man to do so.

Another fourth-round matchup was set up when No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro advanced.

Bouzas Maneiro, who defeated 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in last year’s first round, was a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 winner over Dayana Yastremska, who eliminated No. 2 Coco Gauff in this year’s first round.

Also advancing Saturday was Belinda Bencic, who overcame Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7) in a match lasting three hours. It will be Bencic’s fourth round of 16 appearance at Wimbledon, tying Martina Hingis for most in the Open era by a Swiss woman.

No. 18 Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Zeynep Sonmez 6-3, 7-6 (1).

ESPN Research and Reuters contributed to this report.


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