Two of the youngest players ranked in the Top 30, Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva, are set to compete for the third time in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open.
World No. 4 Gauff defeated Belinda Bencic in their recent match with a score of 6-4, 6-2, securing her first-ever spot in the Madrid quarterfinals. At 20 years old, she has now reached the last eight in all current WTA 1000 events except the Miami Open.
Shortly after Gauff`s victory, seventh seed Mirra Andreeva advanced by beating qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-1, 6-4, reaching the quarterfinals in Madrid for the second consecutive year. Andreeva has had a strong year and is set to turn 18 on Tuesday.
Minutes after Gauff secured her victory, the tournament faced widespread power outages across Spain, as confirmed by the national grid operator, Red Eléctrica. The power failed while Andreeva was serving for her match, but she successfully saved four break points to clinch the win just before play was suspended on all courts.
The two players last faced each other in 2023, the year Andreeva made her breakthrough on the Hologic WTA Tour. Their only previous meetings were at Grand Slam events. Andreeva qualified for the main draw at Roland Garros 2023, where Gauff stopped her run in the third round with a 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1 victory. Gauff won again three months later in the US Open second round, 6-3, 6-2.
Now, two years on, they will face off as Top 10 ranked players for the first time. Andreeva is currently on a five-match winning streak against opponents ranked in the Top 10. Gauff`s most recent match against a Top 10 player resulted in a loss to Jasmine Paolini in the Stuttgart quarterfinals last week.
Serve and Return Crucial for Gauff
Gauff and Bencic have met often recently, with this being their third encounter of the season, but their first on clay. Gauff now holds a 3-2 lead in their overall head-to-head record, including 2-1 this season.
In contrast to their three-set matches at the Australian Open (Gauff won) and Indian Wells (Bencic won), this match was more decisive. Gauff was superior across serve, return, and groundstrokes. She created 14 break point chances on Bencic`s serve, converting four, while only facing one break point herself. Gauff hit 25 winners compared to Bencic`s 10 and won 85% of her first-serve points against the Swiss`s 60%.
Gauff`s aggressive targeting of Bencic`s second serve stood out. She hit three clean return winners to break for a 4-2 lead in the first set and another to break for 3-1 in the second set. Bencic struggled on her second serve, winning only four points from it in total.
Andreeva Shows Strong Form in Madrid
Andreeva gave a composed and crucial performance against a potentially dangerous opponent she had never played before. Yuliia Starodubtseva showed her intentions early, creating three break points in the opening game. Starodubtseva`s drop shots were effective throughout the match.
However, Andreeva`s key strength is her tactical awareness and ability to execute under pressure, which she demonstrated again. Despite Starodubtseva creating numerous chances, Andreeva successfully saved all nine break points she faced. In the first set, Andreeva employed cautious, consistent play, drawing errors from her opponent (ranked No. 99) during crucial moments. As the second set became tighter, Andreeva adapted, playing more aggressively and creatively, even using effective drop shots herself.
