Aryna Sabalenka, world No.2 and holder of the trophy, put an end to the fine run of Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva (43rd) 6-1, 6-4 in 1h19, in the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, this Wednesday, just like exactly a year ago, a round earlier.
For a place in the final, the Belarusian double winner of the Australian Open will face world No.4 Elena Rybakina, freshly titled in Stuttgart (Germany) and miraculous on Wednesday since she saved two match points (against Putintseva).
Sabalenka had until then been experiencing a complicated tournament in the Spanish capital: each of her first three matches had stretched over three sets. Andreeva, who celebrated her 17th birthday on Monday, was invited to the quarter-finals of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time in her budding career.
It was on the clay court of Madrid that Andreeva revealed herself a year ago. Invited into the main draw at just 15 years old, she successively knocked out a player from the top 50 (Fernandez), then two from the top 20 (Haddad Maia and Linette). It was already Sabalenka who stopped her in her tracks, then in the round of 16, 6-3, 6-1.
Since then, the young Russian has come a long way. From the gates of the top 200, she moved into the top 50 – at 43rd this week, at best at 33rd in February – and reached two round of 16 Grand Slams (Wimbledon and Australian Open).