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Russian teenage tennis prodigy Mirra Andreeva’s giant-killing Wimbledon campaign has ended in heartbreak after a 3-6 7-6 6-2 loss to 25th seed Madison Keys in the fourth round.
But the 16-year-old has been part of a moment of pure controversy after Keys was handed a match point after the umpire awarded a penalty point after Andreeva slipped and dropped her racquet. Or did she throw it?
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Andreeva, who had to go through qualifying to make the main draw at Wimbledon, appeared set to become the youngest Wimbledon quarterfinalist since Anna Kournikova in 26 years ago when she raced to 6-3 4-1 and led 40-30 on Keys’ serve but she allowed the experienced American back into the match.
She lost the second in a tiebreak.
A fiery character already, Andreeva threw her racquet towards her chair, earning a warning.
The warning would only become an issue at the end of the match, when chair umpire Julie Kjendlie awarded a penalty point with the Russian down 5-2 at deuce in the deciding set.
With the game rapidly slipping away from her, Andreeva slipped, but threw her arm up over her head before dropping her racquet.
While Australians are more than used to seeing Nick Kyrgios annihilate his racquets, this in comparison was little more than a drop.
Andreeva confronted the umpire, protesting that she had slipped and had not banged her racquet into the surface intentionally.
“I slipped. I didn’t do it. I slid and I fell,” Andreeva said.
“No it’s (the) wrong decision. Do you understand what you are doing? Do you understand what you are doing?”
“I didn’t throw the racquet, I slid. Yes I did slip, I didn’t throw the racquet.
“I slid. It’s the wrong decision. I didn’t throw the racquet, I fell. I slid and then I fell.”
However, the protests fell on deaf ears, handing Keys a match point, which she wasted no time in claiming.
But the controversial finish divided the world with plenty believing it was a harsh penalty, while others said it was fair enough after her first code violation.
The 16-year-old was visibly upset at the end of the match and refused to shake hands with the umpire.
Former men’s world No. 1 Andy Roddick tweeted: “I don’t think she does the racket thing if she doesn’t slip. Seems like a reaction to that ……. This seems like an overreach.”
One fan posted: “What a s**t way for Andreeva to lose that match. Point penalty for match point. Grim.”
Another commented: “Yeah I wouldn’t be shaking the umpires hand after handing her opponent match point for a violation after this fall️ and then losing the match. That’s terrible.”
Another said: “Poor Andreeva – harsh call from the umpire. I think she did *slightly* throw her racket but it was no worse than we see from other players, and it was exaggerated by the fact she did actually slip. What shame to end the match that way.”
The Tennis Letter Twitter page also wrote: “Looking at this, she clearly lost her footing. She released the racquet, but I think the umpire could’ve let this one slide. Sad ending.”
But there were also plenty who believed the penalty was justified.
Aussie broadcaster Quentin Hull wrote: “Teenage prodigies don’t win fans by storming past the chair umpire without offering respect. She’ll learn, but the world’s biggest tournament is the worst place for a tanty.”
Post-match, Keys appeared stunned she’d pulled off the comeback but paid tribute to her young rival.
“I knew she’s a phenomenal player. I knew I had to stay in the match and get an opportunity to break back. I got the momentum and kept going,” Keys said.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling the pressure (of facing a qualifier). I didn’t want to be the first player to lose to her to get to her first quarter-final at a Slam.”
Keys will now go on to play the winner of No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and No. 21 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
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