Andreeva opens clay season with win over Stephens in Linz

Mirra Andreeva wasn’t at her best Wednesday in Linz, but she didn’t need to be. The 18-year-old did more than enough to defeat Sloane Stephens, earning a 6-4, 6-2 win in 1 hour and 21 minutes to reach the quarterfinals.

Linz: Scores | Draws | Order of play

“It was a tricky match,” Andreeva said in her on-court interview.  “Obviously, she’s a Grand Slam champion, so she’s got that experience. “She knows what to do when things aren’t going her way. I’m just super happy that I got through this match.”

The victory over Stephens, a former US Open champion, is Andreeva’s 13th over a past Grand Slam singles champion at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level and her first since she beat Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka en route to the 2025 Indian Wells title. 

As she did in those matches, Andreeva had to work harder than usual to secure the win. Here’s how she booked her spot in the last eight in Linz.

Overcoming adversity: Andreeva looked headed for a routine win when she raced out to a 5-1 lead as Stephens’ unforced errors piled up. But serving for the set, the momentum shifted. Andreeva suddenly struggled to find the court, allowing Stephens to reel off three straight games to close the gap to 5-4.

“I felt like I didn’t really have the rhythm after 5-1 in the first set,” Andreeva said. “So I’m just super happy that I stayed calm, played my game and won the match.”

On her fourth set point, Andreeva finally closed out the opener.

She continued to search for her best level in the second set, finishing with 33 unforced errors to 13 winners. Still, she found enough stability behind her first serve, winning 76% of those points (25 of 33) and facing just one break point.

Getting even: The win is her first over Stephens in their second career meeting. Their only previous matchup came in Cleveland in 2023, a two-day affair disrupted by an overnight rain delay. Stephens won that match 6-3, 6-3 over a then-16-year-old Andreeva.

This time, Andreeva returned the favor with a straight-sets win of her own. She’ll now hope to avoid Stephens’ fate from that week, when the American followed her victory over Andreeva with a loss to lucky loser and eventual champion Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Up next: Next up for Andreeva is No. 5 seed Sorana Cirstea. They have yet to face one another at the WTA level.

A win would send Andreeva to her first semifinal since claiming the Adelaide title in January.