Madrid Open: Sabalenka halts teen Andreeva’s impressive run in fourth round

Madrid Open: After three straight-set victories against top-40 opponents in her main-draw debut, the 16-year-old wild-card entry couldn’t get past Sabalenka in the fourth round, losing 6-3, 6-1.

Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka returns the ball against Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid. | Photo Credit: AP

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva’s impressive run at the Madrid Open came to an end with a loss to second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka on Monday.

After three straight-set victories against top-40 opponents in her main-draw debut, the 16-year-old wild-card entry couldn’t get past Sabalenka in the fourth round, losing 6-3, 6-1 in her first centre-court appearance in the Spanish capital.

Andreeva became the youngest player to reach the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event after upsetting 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in the first round, 14th-ranked Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second and 19th-ranked Magda Linette in the third. She had won 16 straight matches at all levels before falling to Sabalenka, her first top-10 opponent.

“It was a great match. I’m really happy with the result,” the second-ranked Sabalenka said. “In the first few games I was just trying to adjust to her game and her rhythm. After that I started feeling my game a little bit better and started playing better.”

Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion and the 2021 Madrid Open winner, made it to the last eight in Madrid for the second time. She reached at least the quarterfinals in all seven tournaments she has played in 2023, carrying a 26-4 record for the year.

Her next opponent will be Mayar Sherif, who defeated 24th-seeded Elise Merten 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 after nearly three hours to become the first Egyptian to reach the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 tournament.