Coco Gauff eventually wore down 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva to make the fourth round of the French Open, but the young Russian’s performance was enough to give Wimbledon a dilemma.
Despite going down 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1 Andreeva underlined what an exciting talent she is, and how her nominal ranking of 143 is completely unrealistic.
Due to that lowly number, caused by having played few tournaments, she has missed out on direct entry to Wimbledon’s main draw. Under normal circumstances she would be guaranteed a wildcard.
Her nationality, however, is the issue. Having reluctantly allowed Russians back in this summer under pressure from the international tours, it will be awkward for the All England Club to give her a privileged entry that her level of play undoubtedly deserves.
Andreeva is a sparkling young talent with a tennis head on her shoulders way beyond her years. She manoeuvres the ball around the court with great maturity and no little power.
Coco Gauff has advanced to the French Open Round of 16 after 6-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory on Saturday
The American star overcame a shaky start to defeat 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva in third round
Hence this match being billed as the contest between Gauff, the former wonderkid who has yet to make a decisive breakthrough, and the youngster who has shown arguably even greater promise.
It made for an outstanding first set which saw Andreeva prevail 7-5 in the tiebreak, although not before she reminded everyone of her age by flirting with getting defaulted.
Having lost a second set point at 6-4 she furiously swished a ball away into the crowd, and would not have had much cause for complaint if she had been defaulted. A code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct was given instead, and she closed it out.
Her 19-year-old opponent’s greater strength and experience told thereafter, but it is obvious that Andreeva will be back.
In the quarterfinals Gauff could meet top seed Iga Swiatek, who dished out a 6-0 6-0 beating to Xinyu Wang. Defending champion Swiatek’s path to the final looks easier after the abrupt withdrawal of fourth seed Elena Rybakina, who withdrew before her match with a virus.
Gauff won 12 of the last 14 games and could play compatriot and qualifier Kayla Day next
Meanwhile, Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova beat American qualifier Kayla Day 6-1, 6-3 but USA’s Bernarda Pera defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-4, 7-6 (2).
On the men’s side everyone left can breathe easier in the absence of Rafael Nadal, who marked his 37th birthday on Saturday by undergoing exploratory surgery on the hip muscle injury which has prevented him from attempting a fifteenth trophy in Paris.
The procedure was deemed a success in cleaning out the affected area, but there appears no chance that he will play again this season.
‘Rafa will begin his progressive functional rehabilitation in a few hours and the normal recovery process is estimated at five months,’ said a spokesperson for the Spaniard.
