LONDON — Mirra Andreeva clinched her spot in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon on Monday, achieving the remarkable feat of becoming the youngest woman since 2007 to advance this far in the tournament after her fourth-round triumph over Emma Navarro.
In an astonishing display of focus, the 18-year-old Russian star didn’t register the end of the match until Navarro’s forehand landed in the net, resulting in a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Rather than celebrate, the seventh-seeded Andreeva remained poised, turning back to her baseline and adjusting her racket, as if preparing for the next point.
It wasn’t until she witnessed the crowd’s energetic reaction and saw her coach Conchita Martinez erupt in joy that the reality of her win sank in.
“Honestly, I just kept reminding myself that I was dealing with break points. I thought of myself as being down, not up,” Andreeva explained during her on-court interview. “In the end, I completely lost track of the score. I’m grateful for that, as it might have made me way more nervous during match point.”
With this victory, Andreeva has etched her name into history, becoming the youngest player since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007 to reach the prestigious quarterfinals of this renowned grass-court Grand Slam.
Andreeva also tried to focus on her game instead of the spectacle around her, consciously avoiding glancing at the Royal Box, where the legendary Roger Federer and his wife, Mirka, were cheering her on.
“I really did my best to ignore that area of the box because I knew that looking there would cause me to lose focus,” she admitted, addressing the couple directly. “It means so much to me that you came to see my match—meeting you has been a dream. When I spotted you both, I felt incredibly nervous.”
In a previous round, the tenth-seeded Navarro had taken down defending champion Barbora Krejcikova, guaranteeing yet another first-time grand slam champion, marking the ninth unique winner in as many years since Serena Williams’s last back-to-back title in 2016.
Andreeva’s next challenge is against Belinda Bencic, who also secured her first Wimbledon quarterfinal, 11 years after her inaugural appearance at the All England Club. Bencic triumphed over 18th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova with a score of 7-6 (4), 6-4 earlier on No. 1 Court.
Despite grappling with nerves, Bencic overcame the pressure of five missed match points while serving at 5-3 in the second set. On the sixth attempt, Alexandrova’s forehand sailed out.
“You all must have found that dramatic,” Bencic remarked about her tense call at 5-3, where Alexandrova seized her fourth break point to prolong the match. “For me, it was extremely stressful.”
Bencic’s top Grand Slam achievement was reaching the semifinals at the U.S. Open in 2019; she has also made it to the quarterfinals twice more. After participating in Wimbledon for the ninth time, she has finally broken through to the last eight at a major event.
Having missed last year’s grass-court Grand Slam due to maternity leave following the birth of her daughter Bella in April 2024, Bencic reflects on her journey as a new mother on tour.
“Traveling with a baby while they’re this young is still manageable, but now I spend a lot more time capturing moments on camera at tournaments,” she shared.
“I’m managing it like every mom does,” Bencic added, giving a nod to all mothers out there. “So, hats off to the moms!”
Additionally, No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova made headlines by reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal after defeating Jessica Bouzas Maneiro with a score of 7-5, 7-5 on No. 2 Court.
Samsonova remains unscathed in this tournament, having not dropped a single set, and is set to compete against either No. 8 Iga Swiatek or Clara Tauson next.
