On Sunday, the only 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva reached the round of 16 in her first attempt at the Wimbledon tennis classic. Even more than the triumph of the teenager, however, a request from the chair umpire causes a stir.
Mirra Andreeva swept her compatriot Anastasya Potapova off the holy lawn of the All England Championships on Sunday with 6: 2 and 7: 5 and made it into the round of the last 16 for the first time in her career in her second participation in a Grand Slam tournament.
There, the American Madison Keys ended Andreeva’s triumphal procession with 3: 6, 7: 6 and 6: 2 on Monday, but the young Russian made the headlines simply because of what happened during her match the day before.
When Anastasya Potapova opened the game against Andreeva, the number 23 in the world revealed major problems with her own service right from the start, probably because she felt her concentration was disturbed.
Even Australian chair umpire John Blom had to intervene to end what appears to be Wimbledon-only noise.
“Ladies and gentlemen… if you open a bottle of champagne, don’t open it when the players are about to serve it,” the referee said to the spectators, earning a few laughs. The tournament organizers themselves tweeted a video of the scene, garnished with the words: “Probably the most typical Wimbledon warning of all time.”
Potapova also smiled at the words and nodded in agreement. In the entire first set, she was only able to win one game on her own serve. Andreeva ultimately won unchallenged, citing the “incredible atmosphere”.
In the meantime, the high-flyer has had to give up, but at just 16 years old, the future on the WTA tour probably belongs to her.