Madison Keys of the US celebrates after winning a point against Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in a women’s singles match on day eight of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Monday, July 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — After a week of showing her maturity at her first Wimbledon, 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva showed her inexperience on Monday.
The Russian qualifier, who had won all six of her matches on grass to reach the fourth round at the All England Club, let a big lead over 25th-seeded Madison Keys slip away in a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 loss on No. 2 Court.
Andreeva took the first set and led 3-0 in the second — winning nine of 10 games in one stretch — before Keys turned things around. Frustrated at one point, Andreeva threw her racket and received a warning from Swedish chair umpire Louise Azemar Engzell.
In the final game, Andreeva slipped while going for a ball and the racket again went flying out of her hand.
Engzell docked the Russian a point for a second thrown racket, giving Keys a match point. Andreeva argued the call, pleading her case.
“I didn’t throw the racket. I fell,” Andreeva told Engzell. “I slid and then I fell.”
The call stood, however, and Keys then finished off the match to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.
“Coming out here, you know that she’s a really great player. But you don’t want to be the player that loses to her for her to get to her first quarter,” Keys said on court. “I’ve fallen short a few times and it’s great to be back in the quarterfinals here at Wimbledon.”
Keys has reached the semifinals at the other three Grand Slam tournaments, including a run to the final at the U.S. Open in 2017, but her only other quarterfinal appearance at the All England Club ended at that stage.
Andreeva, the latest teen sensation in tennis, was the youngest player in the Wimbledon draw. She was bidding to become the youngest player to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since Anna Kournikova in 1997.
Keys will next play either second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka or No. 21 Ekaterina Alexandrova. Sabalenka won the Australian Open this year and has a 15-1 record in major tournaments in 2023.
Defending champion Elena Rybakina also reached the quarterfinals. She advanced when Beatriz Haddad Maia retired from their match with a hip injury with Rybakina leading 4-1.
Also Monday, seven-time champion Novak Djokovic will resume his fourth-round match against Hubert Hurkacz on Centre Court. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will then face 2022 finalist Ons Jabeur before top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz plays 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini.
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