Mirra Andreeva celebrated her 19th birthday in style by reaching the Madrid Open final for the first time, defeating Hailey Baptiste in straight sets. The Russian ninth seed triumphed 6-4 7-6(8) to become the first teenager to reach three WTA 1000 finals.
Baptiste, the 30th seed, had stunned Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals but could not replicate that form against Andreeva. The teenager dominated the first set, winning 100% of points on her first serve, and withstood a late fightback in the second. Andreeva raced to a 5-3 lead before Baptiste saved a match point, broke back, and forced a tie-break. The American had two set points but could not convert, as Andreeva edged ahead and sealed victory on her third match point.
“I feel so much adrenaline inside. I feel like I'm still nervous. I'm so happy that I won and I was able to save all those set points,” Andreeva said. “I was very happy with the way I was able to serve. I cannot find a lot of words to describe how I am feeling right now.”
Andreeva will face either lucky loser Anastasia Potapova or 26th seed Marta Kostyuk in the final.
Ruud's Title Defence Ends
In the men's draw, defending champion Casper Ruud suffered a “depressing” exit, losing 6-4 6-4 to rising star Alexander Blockx. The Belgian, ranked 69th, had never won an ATP Tour match on clay before this month but continued his rapid rise with a composed display against the 12th seed.
“To be honest, I'm just happy with being here. Even winning my first match here. I barely escaped in the first round, and I was happy about that already. Semi-finals is something I wouldn't have even dreamed of to begin with,” said Blockx, 21.
Ruud, who will drop out of the top 20 for the first time in nearly five years, said: “I found it depressing this game, because he didn't really have any weaknesses. I was impressed because I didn't really find any big weakness or hole in his game. And when you don't do that, it's easier to kind of over-hit and feel like you don't get anything out of your own shots. So credit to him for being, obviously, a very good server, yes, but also very solid and playing well from the baseline.”
Blockx also beat third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and 16th seed Francisco Cerundolo en route to the semi-finals, where he will face either second seed Alexander Zverev or 10th seed Flavio Cobolli. The winner of Jannik Sinner vs Arthur Fils awaits in the final.
Alcaraz Brother Shines
While no Spanish players remain in either main draw, the home crowd had something to cheer as Carlos Alcaraz—sidelined with a wrist injury that has ruled him out of the French Open—watched his 14-year-old brother Jaime win 6-3 6-3 in the under-16 tournament.
