Andreeva seeks first win over Alexandrova in Beijing quarterfinal

BEIJING — Mirra Andreeva has done everything right at the China Open so far, but the hardest test of her week is still to come: a quarterfinal against a woman she has never beaten.

Andreeva, the No. 4 seed, booked her spot in the last eight in Beijing with a clinical 6-2, 6-2 win over Daria Snigur on Tuesday. The victory was her 48th of the season — the most she has ever recorded in a single year — and it sets up a meeting with No. 19 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who has won all three of their previous tour-level meetings.

That head-to-head is the headline for Wednesday's quarterfinal, and it hangs over everything Andreeva has achieved in the Chinese capital. The 19-year-old has never taken a set off Alexandrova, let alone a match. It is the kind of stat that follows a player into the locker room, onto the practice court, and into the first serve of the match.

But Andreeva is not the type to shrink from a challenge. She arrived in Beijing as one of the tour's most improved players, and her run to the quarterfinals — her second here in three years — has been built on a game that is maturing by the week.

Against Snigur, who was playing her first round-of-16 match at a WTA 1000 event, Andreeva was ruthless. She dropped serve only once in the 1-hour, 3-minute contest, broke her opponent five times, and finished with 18 winners against 15 unforced errors. Snigur, by contrast, sprayed 32 unforced errors to go with her 17 winners. Andreeva also fired six aces.