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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Tumaini Carayol at Roland Garros

Andreeva’s French Open triumph shows value of Martínez and women coaches

Tennis player Mirra Andreeva, wearing a pink visor and a black zipped jacket over a light pink tennis dress, poses with her coach Conchita Martínez, who is wearing red sweatpants and a white T-shirt with a photo of Mirra Andreeva on it. They are both holding up one finger, and in  between them is the French Open women's trophy.
Mirra Andreeva likes to thank herself, but she shows due gratitude to her coach, the Spanish grand slam winner Conchita Martínez. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

Conchita Martínez was in the middle of her account of her charge’s run to a first grand-slam title when she was rudely interrupted by a late arrival. Pursued by the rest of her team, tournament officials and a gloved staff member carrying the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen, Mirra Andreeva entered the main interview room with the sole objective of causing mischief.

She interjected with a question. “What is the best thing about working with Mirra Andreeva?” the new French Open champion asked. When Martínez responded by explaining that she most values playing Uno against Andreeva and always winning, the 19-year-old raised her eyebrows and moved towards the exit. “That’s it? Have fun,” she said, smiling. As Andreeva left the room, Martínez wondered aloud if she had just been fired.

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