Mirra Andreeva is through to the third round of Wimbledon for the second time. The youngest player left in the ladies’ singles followed up her opening round victory over Mayar Sherif by getting the better of Italian Lucia Bronzetti in a match of two halves.
It was the first encounter of the day on No.1 Court and Andreeva was elated and relieved to come through in straight sets.
‘It was a really tough match,” the 18-year-old said. “In the beginning I felt like I was playing great. I was taking the ball early and trying to play aggressive.
“But in the second set she started to play better and I got a little nervous, so I’m super happy that I managed to push myself until the end.”
The first set was a one-sided affair. Andreeva was in top form as she won 14 of 16 first service points and broke her opponent twice from three opportunities. The set lasted just 24 minutes.
Bronzetti, 26, ensured their first ever matchup on a warm Thursday afternoon was much more competitive in the second. Watched by long-term coach Francesco Piccari, she took advantage of Andreeva’s much lower first serve percentage and broke for the first and only time to move into a 4-2 lead.
Fast forward to 5-3, and Bronzetti failed in her bid to serve out the set, broken to 15. However, the Italian did have two set points on the Andreeva serve in the next game, but both were quickly cancelled out.
Andreeva, coached by former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, was clearly in no mood for a third set and dominated in the tie-break to wrap up a hard-fought victory on her second match point.
“Honestly, I was super nervous to play on this court for the first time,” Andreeva said after the match. “I’m just happy that my first time on this amazing court was successful.”
She finished with four aces, one double fault, and strong numbers behind both first and second serve (57 per cent of points won on the latter – way above her average for the year of 48 per cent) along with three breaks of serve from six opportunities and just one more unforced error than winners – 22 to 21.
It’s Andreeva’s third main draw appearance here. While she lost in the first round last year, on her debut in 2023 as a 16-year-old qualifier she beat Xiyu Wang, Barbora Krejcikova (who retired down a set and 4-0) and Anastasia Potapova, before losing a nail-biter to Madison Keys. Her effort made her the youngest player since Coco Gauff in 2019 to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Martinez understands what it takes to become a Grand Slam champion, having won here in 1994. Her charge is getting closer: Andreeva reached the Roland-Garros semi-finals last year.
Andreeva said of her coach after Thursday's win: “She pushes me to my limits – so thanks for that….I guess.”
Martinez laughed along with the crowd. Coach and player exchanged a focused look, suggesting the fun and games would be put on hold, for now at least, as they prepare for a third round match against American Hailey Baptiste.