Andreeva, 16, shows inexperience at Wimbledon as Keys advances

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — After a week of showing her maturity at her first Wimbledon, Mirra Andreeva showed her inexperience on Monday.

Andreeva, a Russian qualifier who is still only 16 years old, had won all six of her matches on grass to reach the fourth round at the All England Club but she let a big lead over 25th-seeded Madison Keys slip away in a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 loss on No. 2 Court.

Andreeva took the first set and led 3-0 in the second — winning nine of 10 games in one stretch — before Keys turned things around. Frustrated at one point, Andreeva threw her racket and received a warning from Swedish chair umpire Louise Azemar Engzell.

In the final game, Andreeva slipped while going for a ball and the racket again went flying out of her hand.

Engzell docked the Russian a point for a second thrown racket, giving Keys a match point. Andreeva argued the call, pleading her case.

“I didn’t throw the racket. I fell," Andreeva told Engzell. "I slid and then I fell.”

The call stood, however, and Keys then finished off the match to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.

“Coming out here, you know that she’s a really great player. But you don’t want to be the player that loses to her for her to get to her first quarter,” Keys said on court. “I’ve fallen short a few times and it’s great to be back in the quarterfinals here at Wimbledon.”

Keys has reached the semifinals at the other three Grand Slam tournaments, including a run to the final at the U.S. Open in 2017, but her only other quarterfinal appearance at the All England Club ended at that stage.

Andreeva, the latest teen sensation in tennis, was the youngest player in the Wimbledon draw. She was bidding to become the youngest player to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since Anna Kournikova in 1997.

Keys will next play Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated No. 21 Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-0. The second-seeded Sabalenka won the Australian Open this year and has a 16-1 record in major tournaments in 2023.

Defending champion Elena Rybakina also reached the quarterfinals. She advanced when Beatriz Haddad Maia retired from their match with a lower back injury with Rybakina leading 4-1. Rybakina will next meet Ons Jabeur, who she defeated in last year's final.

"The first one or two weeks (after), I thought about it a lot. It was very painful," Jabeur said after eliminating two-time champion Petra Kvitova 6-0, 6-3 Monday. "The good thing about it is I know I gave it everything. I'm someone that believes that it wasn't meant to be, so I cannot force it more than it should be. I'm glad that I have this belief. I believe in destiny. It wasn't supposed to be that year. Maybe greater things are coming after that final."

The other side of the women's bracket will see No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek face Elina Svitolina in one quarterfinal, while Jessica Pegula, the top American seed in the field, takes on Marketa Vondrousova.

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