Andreeva Battles Past Alexandrova in Twin Tie-Breaks to Reach First Beijing Semifinal

Mirra Andreeva kept her nerve where it mattered most on Thursday night in Beijing, winning both sets of a bruising China Open quarterfinal in tie-breaks to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(4), 7-6(3) and reach her first semifinal at the WTA 1000 event. The 19-year-old fourth seed started brightly against the 31-year-old Alexandrova before the opener spiralled into a tense battle, and it was Andreeva who handled the breaker better. The second set looked routine when she built a 4-1 lead and served for the match at 5-3, but Alexandrova refused to go away, forcing yet another tie-break. There, Andreeva found a new gear. A forehand winner gave her a 3-2 lead, and the teenager claimed five of the last six points to close out the win in one hour and 53 minutes — her first victory over Alexandrova after two previous defeats without taking a set. The result makes Andreeva the youngest Beijing semifinalist since 2007, and it guarantees she will climb to a career-high No. 4 in the world rankings next Monday. Awaiting her in the semifinal is Nikola Bartunkova, the 20-year-old Czech who continued her dream week by crushing Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-0 earlier in the day, setting up an all-youth clash for a spot in Sunday's final.