Mirra Andreeva made history as the youngest player ever to reach the Last 16 at a WTA 1000 tournament but won't be the first to reach the Quarter-Finals after being dealt with by Aryna Sabalenka at the Madrid Open.
As World No.2, Sabalenka showed her class against Andreeva who saw off Leylah Fernandez and Magda Linette to reach this point and has emerged this week as the next young prodigy to watch on the WTA Tour.
It was a 6-3, 6-1 win for Sabalenka who now moves on showing her strength and experience in the key moments against the 16-year-old and will now face Mayar Sherif in the Quarter-Finals.
Sherif took down Elise Mertens earlier today and has undergone a run of taking down seeds with Caroline Garcia and Anhelina Kalinina also losing to the Egyptian. Next up is Sabalenka.
Stats-wise, there were no double faults from Sabalenka today with a 71% win percentage on her second serve, and could've been even more flawless winning 5/13 break points.
While for Andreeva, she will likely take the positives and could be in line for further wildcards after her success this week as well as a huge jump in next weeks' rankings.
Aryna Sabalenka beats Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-1 in Madrid R16 When a 16 year old girl can breathe this much excitement into the game, that’s when you know she’s here to stay It’s one thing to dream, but it’s another thing to watch someone achieve their dreams Be proud Mirra ❤️🥹
