Beijing: French Open champion Mirra Andreeva survived a late wobble to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) in an all-Russian quarterfinal at the China Open on Thursday, reaching her first Beijing semifinal and setting up a last-four clash with Nikola Bartunkova.
FAKTA
- Result: Mirra Andreeva (4th seed) beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) in the China Open quarterfinals, 8 October 2026.
- Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing — Day 9 of the China Open.
- First win: Andreeva’s first victory over Alexandrova, after straight-set defeats in Stuttgart 2025 and Bad Homburg 2026.
- Next: Semifinal against 20-year-old Czech Nikola Bartunkova, who beat Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-0.
- At stake: A fourth singles title of the year for the 19-year-old Andreeva.
Nerves of steel — just in time
Andreeva, 19, looked in complete control for long stretches, opening a 5-3 lead in the first set before Alexandrova, 32, broke back to force a tie-break. The younger Russian took three consecutive points from 4-3 down in the breaker to convert her first set point.
The second set followed a dramatic script. Andreeva raced to a 5-2 lead, then tightened badly as the finish line approached, losing four straight games as Alexandrova served for the set at 6-5. But just as in the opener, the older Russian could not close it out — Andreeva broke back, and in the second tie-break a missed smash by Alexandrova at 3-3 proved the turning point before a string of unforced errors handed the 19-year-old the win in just under two hours.
“I felt like she was playing better and I didn’t take my chances. I could have played more aggressive but what a match this was,” Andreeva said afterwards. “She played unbelievable today, and I’m very happy to get my very first win against her.”
Bartunkova awaits
Andreeva now faces Nikola Bartunkova, the 20-year-old Czech who stamped her authority on the quarterfinals by racing to a 5-0 lead against her seventh-seeded opponent before closing out Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-0. It was Bartunkova’s third career win against a top-10-ranked opponent, and she arrives in her first WTA 1000 semifinal with nothing to lose.
The fourth-seeded Andreeva, meanwhile, is chasing a fourth singles title of a breakthrough year that has already delivered the French Open crown. Her run in Beijing underlines her growing comfort on the big stage of the tour’s biggest events.
A rivalry turned
Thursday’s win reversed a difficult head-to-head. Alexandrova had beaten Andreeva in straight sets at both Stuttgart in 2025 and Bad Homburg earlier this year, and for long passages in Beijing the 32-year-old again looked the more composed player. That Andreeva found a way through — twice refusing to lose a set she had let slip — will matter as much as the result itself.
For more tennis coverage, see our report on Lionel Messi’s farewell international and other sports stories on Watan News.
Conclusion
Mirra Andreeva’s Beijing breakthrough continues: first win over Alexandrova, first China Open semifinal, and a shot at a fourth title of the year. Standing in her way is the fearless Bartunkova — a semifinal that promises to be one of the matches of the tournament.
