Mirra Andreeva defeats Frech; into Madrid last 16 for third straight year

No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva had to be at her patient best to hold off the challenge of Magdalena Frech 7-5, 6-3 and return to the Mutua Madrid Open last 16 for the third year in a row.

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Andreeva has never lost before the fourth round in Madrid. As a 15-year-old wild card ranked No. 312 competing in her second WTA main draw, she made that stage in 2023 with a breakout run that catapulted her into the spotlight. The following year, she went one better to reach her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal. Now a two-time WTA 1000 champion, Andreeva maintained that record with a second defeat of No. 27-ranked Frech in 2025.

Like her 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 win over the Pole in the Australian Open third round, it was a hard-fought contest that tested Andreeva’s ability to keep a cool head. At times, particularly in the first set, the 17-year-old grew visibly frustrated in the face of Frech’s relentless retrieval abilities. However, she was able to shrug off her setbacks swiftly and advance in 1 hour and 41 minutes.

“I was very, very nervous,” Andreeva said in her on-court interview. “I still struggle to find my best tennis in Madrid. [But I’m] super happy that I could manage to play consistent throughout the whole match.”

Keys to the match: Andreeva’s first service point of the day encapsulated her challenge. A 23-stroke exchange featuring angled slices, high topspin moonballs, drop shot attacks and finally a wrong-footing volley winner from the teenager, it demonstrated that both players were aiming to out-think rather than overpower each other.

It set the tone for an absorbing series of extended rallies in which shot selection was at a premium. Andreeva tended to get the better of these chess-like exchanges, claiming the first break for 3-2 then saving three break points to advance to 5-3.

Frech was tough to shake off, though, and managed to find a forehand pass off an Andreeva drive volley en route to levelling at 5-5 — the point at which the youngster seemed most visibly distressed. But she gathered herself with a pair of superb games to close out the set, sealing her first set point with a deft volley.

Aided by a pair of ill-timed Frech double faults, Andreeva broke first in the second set again for 2-1. By now, her own service numbers were rapidly improving. Conceding just four points behind her delivery in the second set, Andreeva maintained her lead and broke Frech again for the match, finishing with a clean return winner — her 31st of the day.

Starodubtseva snaps streak in style: Andreeva will face qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva in the fourth round. The Ukrainian came from 6-2, 3-1 down to upset No. 18 seed Liudmila Samsonova 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-0 in 2 hours and 32 minutes, going from strength to strength with deft drop shots and redirected winners throughout the third set.

Starodubtseva advanced to the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event for the second time in her career following her quarterfinal run in Beijing last October. Between Beijing and Madrid, Starodubtseva was winless at WTA main-draw level, and only snapped her seven-match losing streak this week in Madrid. (In the same timeframe, she won just four out 21 matches at any level.)