Quarterfinal boss: how Andreeva conquers the US Open

Mirra Andreeva reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the fifth time and did it for the first time in New York. The match with Anastasia Potapova turned out to be a hard one. The Russian first racket made double mistakes at very important moments, lost the first game, but found the strength to turn the tide of the meeting. For Andreeva, this victory was the 44th of the season (with 13 defeats). Next, she will compete with one of the American tennis players, Coco Gauff or Iva Jovic. Alas, Mirra's success could not be supported by Anna Kalinskaya and Daniil Medvedev.

The struggle of characters

Andreeva and Potapova had previously met four times, and Mirra led 3-1 in face-to-face meetings. Anastasia won their first head-to-head match in Tunis in October 2022, but then lost three matches in a row: in the third round of Wimbledon 2023, the second round of the US Open 2025 and in the final of the tournament in Linz in April 2026.

After a great game in Austria, Potapova reached the semifinals of the "thousandth" in Madrid as a lucky loser, the 1/8 finals of Rome, and the fourth round of Roland Garros. Anastasia's grass season was not a success, and after returning to the hard court, she won only two matches in four tournaments. Nevertheless, the 25-year-old tennis player, who has been representing Austria since this year, was able to show her best game in New York. In the first round of the US Open, she defeated Daria Semenistaya from Latvia, in the second she beat Frenchwoman Leolia Janjean in three sets, and in the third she presented one of the main sensations at the tournament, knocking out last year's finalist of the US Open Amanda Anisimova. (6:2, 7:5).

For Potapova, this was the third victory over a top-10 tennis player in 2026, and she clearly wanted to continue this series in a match with her former compatriot. And Anastasia got the first set. With the score at 6:5, Andreeva made two double faults and was able to reach the tie-break. At the same time, we must pay tribute to the ward of Conchita Martinez. After such a setback, she continued to play the second set as if nothing had happened.

Mirra started the second game with a break, and then managed to secure it. However, Potapova managed not only to equalize the score, but also to take the lead. In the sixth game, the Russian had to win back a break, and in the seventh, Potapova returned the gift to her opponent, making a double mistake in the decisive draw. Mirra took the lead (4:3) and scored the eighth game (5:3). At that moment, Andreeva finally began to show the kind of tennis that often brings her success. Powerful punches on the line, stable serve. She soon turned the match into a deciding set.

The third game started with an exchange of breaks. Then Mirra took Anastasia's serve again, but in the fourth game she was close to losing the advantage again. Andreeva made two double faults, but still won her game, winning back two break points (3:1). Potapova continued to struggle. For example, in the seventh game she played two break points, making two magnificent winners. The eighth game turned out to be as stubborn as possible, but Potapova thwarted the blow, losing 40:30. Mirra had to win one game before winning, and she managed to do it at the reception. However, this was overshadowed by an injury to an opponent who was reaching for a difficult ball.

Andreeva immediately ran up to Potapova and helped her reach the bench. After a medical break, Anastasia returned to the court with a rewound knee and was no longer able to resist Mirra.

"It was a battle of wills,— Olympic champion Elena Vesnina told SE. —Mirra has shown incredible resilience. She didn't get nervous, didn't start getting worked up and worried after losing a set, which speaks to her experience. She pulled herself together and turned the meeting around. Congratulations! Will it go further? The winner of a Grand Slam tournament is capable of anything! He can win or at least reach the finals.

Andreeva will play Coco Gauff or Iva Jovic in the quarterfinals. They have never played at the main tour level since the last one. Gauff Mirra lost five matches out of five.

"Mirra closed the semifinals like an adult and was the favorite of the final"

Former third racket of the world Nadezhda Petrova — about Andreeva's victory at Roland Garros and her plans for the development of tennis in the regions of the Russian Federation

Missed chances

Anna Kalinskaya, who caused a big sensation in the third round of the US Open by knocking out world number nine Elina Svitolina, could not beat Emma Navarro. The American turned out to be stronger in both sets, and the Russian took a medical time-out. Nevertheless, at the US Open, the fourth round was Kalinskaya's new best result. She strengthened her position in the ranking, getting as close as possible to returning to the top 20.

Unfortunately, Daniil Medvedev also lost his match. The Russian first racket won six of the previous seven matches against Francis Tiafoe, but this time he lost to the American in three sets. Although Daniil had chances: he couldn't serve for the first game with the score 5-4, and in the third set he missed a set shot in a tiebreak. The former world number one has not been able to reach the quarterfinals in Slams for two years. The last time he did it was at the 2024 US Open.

"Despite the score of 0-3, Medvedev had a chance of success,— former world number one Evgeny Kafelnikov told Izvestia. — In the first set, he served for the set at 6:5, but didn't take advantage of it. I do not know why he is doing this. Questions should be asked to Medvedev about how he trains.

Recall that Medvedev won the US Open in 2021. The Russian also reached the finals of the Australian Open three times and the finals of the US Open two times.