Emma Navarro, one of two American women in their second week at Wimbledon, was eliminated by No. 7 Seed Mira Andreva 6-2, 6-3 in the fourth round on Monday.
Andreva, an 18-year-old Russian, was one of 11 teenagers in the male and female main draw at Wimbledon, and was the only one to advance to round 16.
She also focused on not thinking about the score that Navarro didn’t realize the match was over when he netted his forehand, as she was the last person to realize she won Monday.
Instead of celebrating, Andreva quietly came back towards the baseline and began to mess around with her racket, appearing to be preparing for the next point.
Until she notices the reaction from the crowd, and coach Conchita Martinez celebrates — she realizes she has won.
“To be honest, I kept telling myself I was facing a breakpoint. I told myself I was the one who was down, not the one who scored,” Andreva said in an on-court interview. “In the end I completely forgot my score and I’m happy I did it.
The victory made Andreva the youngest player since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007, reaching the women’s quarterfinals at Kusaguchi’s Grand Slam tournament.
17-year-old Maria Sharapova was the last teenager (boys or female) to win the Wimbledon title.
The score wasn’t the only thing Andreva tried to ignore. She was also afraid to look up at the Royal Box. There, eight-time men’s Wimbledon champion Roger Federer watched the match along with his wife Milka.
“I tried my best not to look inside the box, because as soon as I saw it, I knew I would lose focus completely,” she said before speaking directly. “To be honest, it means a lot to me that you came and watched my game. It was one of my dreams to meet you in real life.
No. 10 seed Navarro defeated defending champion Barbora Klezikova in the previous round to confirm that there is yet another first-time champion. This will be the ninth different women’s champion in Wimbledon in the past nine editions. Serena Williams was the last recurring champion of 2016.
No due to Navarro’s defeat. 13th seed Amanda Anishimova is the only American woman remaining in a single draw. She will play Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the semi-finals location on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Andreva will then face Belinda Bensik, who will perform in her first Wimbledon quarterfinals.
ESPN research and Associated Press contributed to this report.
