Mirra Andreeva has cited an interaction with Andy Murray as a lucky charm following the 16-year-old’s first grand slam main-draw victory at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
Andreeva continued her rapid breakthrough as she moved into the second round with an easy 6-2, 6-1 win against Alison Riske-Amritraj. The victory marks her fourth win in a row in Paris after qualifying for her first grand slam main draw without dropping a set.
This month Andreeva reached the fourth round of the Madrid Open, a WTA 1000 event, after beating two top-20 opponents. During her run in Madrid an indirect exchange between Andreeva and Murray went viral on social media. She described Murray, one of her favourite players, as “beautiful”, to which Murray responded on Twitter: “Imagine how good she’s going to be when she gets her eyes fixed.”
Andreeva said she texted Murray congratulations after his Aix-en-Provence ATP Challenger title this month and unexpectedly received a response. “After he won a Challenger, I texted him,” she said, laughing. “I said: ‘Congratulations’. He actually answered me, so I was really happy about it.’ He said: ‘Thank you, and good luck in Roland Garros.’ Maybe that’s why I’m playing that good now.”
As against her opponents in Madrid, Andreeva picked apart Riske-Amritraj with her well-rounded game and intelligent shot selection, constantly varying the height and spin of the ball while also attacking from inside the baseline. Andreeva has won 21 and lost two matches at all pro levels this year and has risen from No 312 to around No 114, her live ranking.
“Honestly, now I don’t have any goals. I just play,” the Russian said. “But now the first goal maybe it’s to be in a major of US Open, but we will see if I can do that. For now I guess that’s it. I will just play, and we will see what will happen.”
Shortly afterwards, Coco Gauff, the sixth seed, recovered from a set down to defeat Rebeka Masarova 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. The 19-year-old said she had tried to “bleep” from her mind the run to the final last year. Gauff next faces Julia Grabher of Austria while Andreeva has a tough match against the 20-year-old home favourite Diane Parry. Should the teens both win, they will face each other next.
“I think you learn from your matches, and once you’re done from learning from that match, there’s no point of revisiting it,” Gauff said. “So for me I felt like there’s no point in me revisiting last year. It’s in the past. It was a great tournament, but I’m looking forward for more this week.”
Meanwhile, two favourites in the top half advanced without issue. The fourth seed Elena Rybakina defeated another 16-year-old qualifier, Brenda Fruhvirtova, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the second round. Iga Swiatek, the top seed and defending champion, won the final eight games to ease past Cristina Bucsa 6-4, 6-0.
