PARIS -- It rained Saturday for the seventh straight day at Roland Garros, creating another juggling act for the French Tennis Federation and long delay for those on the outer courts. Mirra Andreeva and Peyton Stearns saw their scheduled match move from Court 6 to Court 7 to, finally, Court 2.
When they took the court, it was already past 6 p.m., the temperature was a brisk 61 degrees, and it was misting. Waiting all day to play a critical match and then functioning in those difficult conditions is what it means to be a professional. Oddly enough, the player that responded the best turned 17 two months ago.
Andreeva cooled off Stearns -- who came in with a career-best seven-match winning streak -- advancing to the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. It took all of 67 minutes.
What part of her game was she happiest with?
“Everything,” she said breaking into a smile. “I really like the way I always stayed calm, and I played point-by-point. I didn’t really think about the score.”
She was the youngest player in either draw coming in and nearly five years younger than Stearns, who won the NCAA Division 1 singles title, then turned professional. As it turns out, Andreeva has played nearly as many WTA Tour level matches (43) as Stearns (51).
The second week at Slams is starting to become a habit for Andreeva.
Last year she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and matched that in January at the Australian Open. This gives her fourth-round results in three majors, something some players never achieve. Moreover, she’s the youngest player to reach the Round of 16 in Grand Slam events on all three surfaces since Anna Kournikova in 1998.
“I didn’t know that," Andreeva said. "I’m happy that I'm the first in 26 years. OK, that’s good. I like that. Yeah, I’m happy that I managed to win a lot of matches and to be here.”
She’s also the youngest to advance to the fourth round here since Nicole Vaidisova in 2006.
The No.38-ranked deployed a number of successful drop shots and moved Stearns consistently from side to side. Back-to-back service breaks in the first set gave her an early advantage she never relinquished.
Stearns, who won her first WTA Tour title a week ago, in Rabat, Morocco and had little preparation time, looked fatigued.
Last year’s WTA Newcomer of the Year, Andreeva owns five wins over Top 25 players, the most recent a rousing three-set, second-round win in Paris over Victoria Azarenka that ended after 1 a.m. local time.
Andreeva announced herself as a serious competitor a year ago in Madrid, defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia and Magda Linette before falling to Aryna Sabalenka. This year, she went one step further, to the quarterfinals, again losing to Sabalenka.
Andreeva will play surprising, newly minted French player Varvara Gracheva in a Round of 16 match on Monday.
Although Andreeva and Gracheva have never played a official WTA Tour match, they are good friends.
“We’ve been practicing together for almost two years, so I know what to expect,” Andreeva said. “She’s at a great level right now.
“I know it’s going to be hard. Probably we’re going to play some big court. She’s French, you know, all this stuff. So it's going to be pretty tough for me. Of course, the atmosphere, everyone will cheer for her. But I’m really excited about that match because it’s challenging for me.”
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