No. 7 Mirra Andreeva will be making her third consecutive Round of 16 appearance at a major after easing past unseeded American Hailey Baptiste 6-1, 6-3 in their third-round match Saturday at Wimbledon.
Andreeva, 18, became the youngest woman to reach the last 16 in the first three majors of the season since Nicole Vaidisova did so in 2006 at 17 years old.
Amid a first week marked by upsets, Andreeva, the highest seed left in the bottom half of the women’s draw, has yet to drop a set in equaling her best run at the All England Club.
Baptiste, who made the third round in back-to-back majors after never advancing past the second round before that, was bidding to become the second unseeded American woman in the last decade to reach the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.
“Honestly, I was so focused today,” Andreeva, who is coached by 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, said. “I watched her first round and I knew it would be tough because she creates a lot of different stuff on the court and has a rocket of a forehand.
“With every match I play I feel my level is rising.”
They played on Court One with the roof closed, as rain caused play on the outside courts to be suspended for over an hour.
Andreeva awaits the winner of Saturday’s match between defending Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova (No. 17) and Emma Navarro, the highest-seeded American woman left in the draw at No. 10.
In other women’s singles results Saturday, No. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova beat fellow Russian 16th seed Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-3.
ESPN Research and Reuters contributed to this report.
