BAD HOMBURG, Germany – Mira Andreva lost her first match after winning the French Open on Wednesday, losing to Ekaterina Alexandrova in her only grass-court conditioning before Wimbledon.
Two Russian players hug each other online as Alexandrova beats Andreeva and Heat 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Bad Homburg Open.
In the second set, the 19-year-old French Open champion pulled off a table tennis-style trick shot that had so much backspin that it landed on Alexandrova’s side of the court before bouncing back onto the net, giving Andreva the point.
Alexandrova will next face Naomi Osaka in Bad Homburg.
Top seed Iga Swiatek also struggled with her serve on Wednesday, losing 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 to Emma Navarro. Swiatek committed six double faults in the first set alone. Navarro, who finished runner-up in Nottingham last week, has a record of 6-2 on grass courts this season and will face Elena Gabriela Ruse in the quarterfinals.
The top three seeded players in this tournament all lost. Third-seeded French Open quarterfinalist Elina Svitolina withdrew from the quarterfinals Wednesday, citing fitness issues, after defeating Liudmila Samsonova in the second round.
“It took a little longer than expected to get out of my body, so I need a few more days to recover,” she said in a video statement.
