With newfound self-belief, Alexandrova breaking new ground at Wimbledon

LONDON, England -- It's amazing how much difference 24 hours can make.

On Friday, Ekaterina Alexandrova battled for 2 hours and 49 minutes before she was able to put away Madison Brengle 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 7-6[7] -- the first triple-tiebreak women's match at Wimbledon in the Open Era and only the fourth in Grand Slam history. For all its historic interest, though, Alexandrova -- who committed 91 unforced errors in the match -- grimaces when asked about it.

"It was so difficult and nothing seemed to work," the No.21 seed said. "It was so long. So long. I just wanted it to end and I just felt relief when it was."

Back at SW19 on Saturday for her third round against Dalma Galfi, the 28-year-old Alexandrova was a player transformed. She landed 80% of her first serves and smacked 20 winners to 15 unforced errors to win 6-0, 6-4 in 58 minutes and reach the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time.

She hadn't woken up like that. Alexandrova started the day still tired from the day before, then found her pre-match practice disrupted by yet another London rain shower.

"We only hit for 10 to 15 minutes and didn't know what to do," she said after defeating Galfi. "But when I got on court, I felt calm."

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As different as her past two matches have been, both are examples of how Alexandrova, buoyed by newfound self-belief, is breaking through some long-standing barriers.

There's an irony to Alexandrova getting the historical triple-tiebreak record. Before last month, she had won just one of the 17 deciding tiebreaks she had played at tour level -- a statistic about which she was all too aware.

"I had such a difficult relationship with third-set tiebreaks," she said. "I became so nervous. You've played for two hours before, and now seven points will decide the whole match."

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In an unlikely twist, the breakthrough came when there was even more pressure. Three weeks ago in 's-Hertogenbosch, Alexandrova managed to defend a WTA title for the first time after beating Veronika Kudermetova 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) in the final.

"When I played Veronika in 's-Hertogenbosch, I didn't have that feeling," she said. "I don't know why. I just thought, you have to play every single point. It doesn't matter how it's going to be in the end, just play. And then I won -- it was so amazing.

"That feeling, like I didn't just win but I won in a third-set tiebreak. After that, I think I'm not scared of tiebreaks anymore. That tiebreak was a turning point."

Her victory over Galfi was another breakthrough. Despite a career-high ranking of No.16 and a consistent place among the seeded positions since 2020, Alexandrova had lost all six of her Grand Slam third-round matches before this week. The most recent loss, at Roland Garros to Beatriz Haddad Maia, had been from match point up.

"I was feeling like I was stuck," she said. "Two matches, then some kind of block or something. Now it feels like a relief. It's over. I can play easily now."

Alexandrova says the experience of having achieved these results is more significant than any changes she has made behind the scenes. In May, she trialed a coaching partnership with Dmitry Tursunov, but it lasted only two tournaments. She is now working with her father, Evgeny, again.

But a free-swinging Alexandrova could be ominous news for her next opponent, either No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka or Anna Blinkova. Alexandrova has a 3-2 record against the Australian Open champion Sabalenka, including a 7-5, 6-0 triumph on grass in the 2022 's-Hertogenbosch final.

Alexandrova remains cagy, saying that she will have "no expectations" of that match. But, having freed herself from her mental blocks, her formidable big-hitting game could pose a serious threat.