Mirra Andreeva is into her first Grand Slam semi-final after a 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 win over world number two Aryna Sabalenka.
Andreeva is into her first Grand Slam semi-final at the age of 17 after a gutsy three set win over Sabalenka.
The result means Sabalenka will now lose her world number two ranking after failing to match her result from last year.
Now Andreeva will face 12th seed Jasmine Paolini, who knocked out Elena Rybakina in the other quarter-final.
As expected, Andreeva started the match nervously as she committed a few unforced errors as she was broken in the second game against an efficient Sabalenka.
However Sabalenka was also as erratic early on as she committed too many double faults with Andreeva producing world-class angles in order to expose Sabalenka’s positioning.
The Australian Open champion responded emphatically with another break of serve but after being broken yet again due to careless unforced errors, Sabalenka had to receive a medical time-out on a stomach issue that would bother her for the rest of the match.
Sabalenka was seemingly on the verge of retiring from the match as Andreeva won four games in a row to take a 5-3 lead.
However Andreeva was tight and passive as the occasion got to her with Sabalenka finding a way to stay in the contest as the second seed broke back for 5-5.
The young pretender did everything to outwit the Grand Slam champion’s qualities but Andreeva’s power, slice and skill was not enough in the opening set.
Sabalenka’s grit and determination saw her grind out an opening set tiebreak although the world number two didn’t celebrate her triumph.
The stomach problems of Sabalenka were clearly getting worse as Andreeva continued to pose more problems in the second set.
A frustrated Sabalenka once again produced more double faults as she was broken to love in the sixth game.
Although Sabalenka broke immediately back, Andreeva’s mix of angles, height and depth saw her problem solve Sabalenka’s game in efficient style.
Another break of serve in the tenth game saw Andreeva take the second set, 6-4.
In the final set both players grinded out service games as both players started to feel confident in their quality of shot.
Sabalenka struck the first blow as she broke to love for a 3-2 lead but clearly she was still struggling with her stomach problems.
Andreeva took full advantage as she broke twice in her last three return games as an immaculate lob sealed a famous victory.
Now Andreeva is into a first Grand Slam semi-final and will look to continue her magical run against Jasmine Paolini in the semi-finals.
