Andreeva ousts Vondrousova in Madrid third round; Paolini, Kasatkina win

Mirra Andreeva
The 16-year-old Andreeva stormed into the Mutua Madrid Open Round of 16 for the second straight year, clinching that spot with a 7-5, 6-1 upset of No.7 seed Marketa Vondrousova
Andreeva needed just 1 hour and 15 minutes to dismiss Vondrousova on Sunday and notch the second Top 10 win of her career. Andreeva's first Top 10 win came over Ons Jabeur
As a wild card last year in Madrid, Andreeva romped into the Round of 16 in her breakthrough event ranked No.194. Since then, Andreeva has skyrocketed into the Top 50, peaking at No.33, and was named last season's WTA Newcomer of the Year.
2 - Mirra Andreeva
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) April 28, 2024View Profile has become the second player this Century to defeat a top-10 opponent on clay court before turning 17, after Nicole Vaidisova (Charleston 2005 vs Anastasia Myskina). Gleam.#MMOPEN | @MutuaMadridOpen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/QqXJ81EYKn
Sunday's match was a challenge for the teenager at first. Vondrousova lost her serve three times in a row and trailed 4-1, but the Czech Wimbledon champion reeled off four straight games to move ahead 5-4.
However, Andreeva reclaimed her break lead at 6-5, and she dominated from there, winning nine of the last 10 games in total. Andreeva closed out the match with a 7-for-12 break point conversion rate.
Andreeva has now racked up eight match-wins at WTA 1000 events in her career thus far -- the most by any player before turning 17 years old since the WTA 1000 tier started in 2009.
No matter what, though, this was Andreeva's final win as a 16-year-old -- she turns 17 on Monday, when she will face No.12 seed Jasmine Paolini
Paolini cruised past No.21 seed Caroline Garcia
Italy's Paolini won her first WTA 1000 title in Dubai in February, and she currently sits at a career-high ranking of No.13 after starting the year ranked No.29.
Paolini had never won a match in Madrid before this year, but she is racing through this week's draw. After her first-round bye, Paolini routed Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva
No.10 seed Daria Kasatkina
Kasatkina defeated No.20 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Kasatkina and Pavlyuchenkova came into their showdown with identical 17-9 win-loss records in 2024. It was Kasatkina who recorded her 18th win of the season, fending off 40 winners by Pavlyuchenkova in the match. Kasatkina is a win away from matching her 2018 run to the Madrid quarterfinals.
Putintseva eased past Caroline Dolehide
After a February Middle East swing where she never got out of qualifying, Putintseva rebounded during March's Sunshine Double, making the Indian Wells fourth round and the Miami quarterfinals. Putintseva's ranking improved from No.80 to No.50 in a six-week span.