Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory Monday in London against 18th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.
Bencic overcame a 3-0 deficit in the first-set tiebreak and was thwarted on her first five match points before prevailing in one hour and 57 minutes. Alexandrova, who crushed Bencic 6-1, 6-2 two weeks ago at Bad Homburg, converted only three of 11 break chances.
“For you guys it was entertaining, but for me it was the biggest stress,” Bencic said in her on-court interview. “It was very difficult moment — you’re trying to serve it out but your body is not listening to what your mind is saying. Crazy stress in the end.”
Bencic lost her previous fourth-round appearances at the grass-court Grand Slam in 2015, 2018 and 2023. This will be her fourth quarterfinal at a major and first since the 2021 U.S. Open.
“I always got stuck in the fourth round,” said Bencic, 28. “So it was really important for me to break through to the quarterfinal … it’s really a dream come true.”
Bencic will meet No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia, who took down No. 10 Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-3. Andreeva, 18, is the youngest to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007.
Andreeva is also the first teenager to reach the elite eight since 2009, when Sabine Lisicki and Victoria Azarenka pulled off the feat. Against Navarro, Andreeva saved four of six break points and converted six of seven en route to an easy 77-minute victory.
In the first set, Andreeva broke Navarro in the third and fifth games, then after Navarro forced a break point in the last game, Andreeva responded with unreturned serves of 119, 117 and 121 mph to close the set. Andreeva broke her opponent four more times en route to the win as tennis legend Roger Federer watched from the Royal Box.
“I was super nervous before playing for the first time on the center court,” Andreeva said. “I really tried my best to not look over there in the box because I knew that as soon as I would look there, I would just completely lose my focus. … I’m just super happy that I managed to keep playing focused.”
No. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia moved into the final eight with a 7-5, 7-5 victory against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Samsonova overcame 3-1 and 5-4 deficits in the first set, fighting off two set points. She collected the only service break of the second set in the deciding game.
Samsonova’s quarterfinal foe will be No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland, who defeated No. 23 Clara Tauson of Denmark 6-4, 6-1.
Tauson started off well, breaking Swiatek’s serve on the latter’s first and second service games, when the Polish star committed a pair of double faults.
In both her first and second service games, Swiatek committed two double faults, and Tauson broke Swiatek’s serve on both occasions. However, Swiatek regained control of her serve and forced her opponent into several unforced errors.
For the rest of the first set, Tauson appeared to have issues with her breathing and gasped for air at one point. After Swiatek won the first set, Tauson asked for a medical timeout. She managed to pull even at 1-1 in the second set but couldn’t keep up with Swiatek, who cruised to a 68-minute victory.
“Even though the beginning was pretty shaky with the double faults, I managed to play well and solid,” said Swiatek, who had just one double fault after the two early missteps and 18 winners to seven for Tauson. “I’m hoping she’s going to have a good recovery and a fast one.”
–Field Level Media
