Under a closed roof on No.1 Court on Saturday, Mirra Andreeva and Hailey Baptiste met over the net for the first time.

No.7 seed Andreeva was rightly the favourite to equal her 2023 fourth-round finish at The Championships. The youngest remaining player in the ladies’ singles draw, she has won almost three-quarters of her Grand Slam matches so far in her career – an impressive record, and she started brightly against Wimbledon debutant Baptiste.

“I can say today I was so focused," Andreeva said. "I watched her first round match and I knew this match was going to be so tough.” 

“She creates so much different stuff on court, breaks the rhythm serves great, and has a rocket on her forehand side, so I tried to stay focused on what I needed to do and make as few mistakes as possible and really go for my shots and try to put as many balls in the court as possible.”

Baptiste has a throwback style with a penchant for serve and volley, a delicate drop-shot, and feel at the net. Perhaps the faster conditions, a result of the roof being closed, would give the attack-minded American a chance?

Andreeva has an ace in the pack though. Her coach Conchita Martinez, a former Wimbledon Champion, understands how to deal with that kind of game – it was one she deployed expertly herself.

“Basically she just told me be patient because she's going to cut the rhythm a lot," Andreeva said. "Sometimes she's going to go for an amazing shot. Also, be calm and accept that sometimes things can go her way and things can go wrong. So my goal for today was also be patient, but also at the same time when I have a chance to step in and be aggressive.”

The game plan worked perfectly. Andreeva won two-thirds of her first serve points and more than half of her second, while also breaking her opponent five times from seven opportunities and committing just 12 unforced errors throughout the match.

The 18-year-old is the full package. It is surely just a matter of time until she lifts her first Grand Slam trophy. She can play with power, spin (top and slice), is comfortable moving backwards to defend, or forwards to attack thanks to her doubles prowess alongside Diana Shnaider, which Martinez has encouraged, despite an increasing workload.

“Step by step I feel like I'm improving my movement on the grass, as well," she said. "I also learned how to deal with some tough shots when sometimes, for example, a player hits the line, and most of the time the ball doesn't bounce at all.

"I feel like now I'm also starting to learn how to deal with those tricky shots. I feel like with every match I play, we do the analysis. After I feel better and better and more confident in my game."

This was a mature display, a professional performance that had Baptiste, on the cusp of a top-50 debut, surely wondering what she could have done better. It was difficult to advise. Baptiste tried a bit of everything. Andreeva had answers to all the questions, securing the win 6-1, 6-3.

It was all over in 78 minutes and Andreeva checked with Martinez immediately following the victory that she would not be required to step back on court this Saturday.

“After yesterday’s doubles, I already took off my tapes and undid my shoelaces and was ready to get on the bike. She said, do you want to go and loosen up a bit, and I said (sarcastically), 'Sure, that’s exactly what I wanted, you just read my mind',” Andreeva said. “It depends on her mood. So I hope I’m going to go home early this time.”

Back to the book then.

As well as walking with her mum in a nearby park and doing a spot of shopping, reading is how the 18-year-old has been spending much of her downtime in her rented apartment.

“When I have some free time I like to walk and talk. If I'm at home, I currently read a book that I just cannot stop reading for some reason. It's just so super interesting that every second that I have free I start to read.”

What is it that is so gripping, you ask?

“It's just about the sci-fantasy about the other world, kind of mixed with all of the creatures. They just talk about their life, then they have a war, how they win. All of that. It's like a fantasy book that my cousin recommended. Maybe it's a little bit silly. Maybe it's a little bit, I don't know, not for my age, but I like it.”

The fiction may be fantasy, but the reality is anything but. Andreeva is a Wimbledon contender.