London: Rising teenager Mirra Andreeva advanced to the third round of Wimbledon in her debut appearance after No.10 seed Barbora Krejcikova retired from their match due to injury, here Thursday.
The 16-year-old qualifier was leading Krejcikova 6-3, 4-0 when the Czech tennis player retired due to a left leg injury.
“It’s not the way I wanted to win the match, of course. She had some problems with her foot. Of course, I wish her a speedy recovery,” Andreeva said in her post-match press conference.
Andreeva, who was runner-up at the Junior Australian Open earlier this year, has played only two Grand Slam events on the main tour. But both times, she has come through qualifying and made the third round, having also done so at Roland Garros last month.
On the lawns of Wimbledon, World No.102 Andreeva booked her spot in the third round when Krejcikova was forced to withdraw from their highly anticipated showdown after exactly an hour of play.
Andreeva is now the third-youngest player in the Open Era (since 1968) to reach the third round of Wimbledon as a qualifier. Only Kim Clijsters (1999) and Coco Gauff (2019) pulled off that feat at a younger age.
On the other hand, 2021 Roland Garros champion Krejcikova had already been forced to take a medical time-out at the very end of her first-round win over Heather Watson Wednesday.
Thursday, Krejcikova was visited by the trainer after the first set and had her lower left leg worked on. The Czech soldiered on, but received more treatment after falling behind 3-0 in the second set. One game later, Krejcikova stopped playing.
Andreeva now has a chance to make the second week at a Grand Slam for the first time in her nascent career. In the third round, Andreeva will meet either No.22 seed Anastasia Potapova or another qualifier, Kaja Juvan.
IANS