She was playing against a higher-ranked opponent, against a French crowd, big emotions and a complete lack of Grand Slam experience. However, she coped brilliantly, and at the age of 16, she can be proud of the fact that she reached the third round of Roland Garros. We are talking about the Russian Mirra Andreeva.
Schoolgirl Mirra Andreeva, 16 years old, sensation of the moment in women’s tennis
I saw Mirra for the first time a few days before training. He was without a cooler and was waiting at the entrance to one of the secondary courts. I thought for a moment that she was a schoolgirl who had come to get an autograph from someone important.
Literally in a few minutes, this girl mesmerizingly hit the ball, and I watched her training.
The French came to the Simonne Mathieu Arena on Thursday for two clear reasons: to support one of their favorites (No. 79 Diane Parry in the world) and to see one of the most promising players on the WTA tour: Mirra. Andreeva.
The 16-year-old Russian, who is currently ranked 143 in the world (she turned 29 on April 29), showed a high quality of play, and at the end of the match (she won 6-1, 6-2) the French fans applauded her, appreciating her progress.
Yes, the Russian has a lot of quality in her game, a player who already has important shots that can make a difference, even though her career is only at the beginning.
The match itself was devoid of drama, the matches mostly took place in a rhythm imposed by Mirra.
The Russian did not have a high percentage on the serve, but she made up for it on the return. He’s got really good footwork, great lateral movement, he’s also getting on goal as often as the situation allows – he had a perfect percentage on Thursday: 7/7 at goal.
He never showed his emotions (he was very good at hiding them – he admitted in an interview at the end of the match that he had a lot of emotions), his hand on the racket did not tremble and he had no difficulty closing the game (this sometimes even happens in very experienced athletes).
It’s light and many times feels like it doesn’t actually step on the clay until it reaches the ball.
She also played three qualifying matches, and in the main draw she already knocked out an athlete with experience at the level of major tournaments, the American Alison Riske (6-2, 6-1).
Mirra is doing well, has pace and matches in Paris and the future looks bright.
In the third round, Andreeva could have a very interesting match with another promising and partially confirmed player at a high level: Coco Gauff (the Americans, however, need to get past Yulia Grabher first). We will remind, Gauff is a finalist of Roland Garros (2022).
Who is Mirra Andreeva?
She is 16 years old, she is the youngest girl in the family (she has three more sisters). Sister Erika (18 years old) is ranked 147th in the world. In the current season, Mirra already has 18 wins and two losses.
Raisa’s mother watched the Australian Open while pregnant with Erica (one of the older sisters) and passed on her love of tennis to the girls.
A family of four sisters, in early 2021
Check out this Instagram post
Source: Hot News
David Jack is a sports author at 247 News Reel, known for his informative writing on sports topics. With extensive knowledge and experience, he provides readers with a deep understanding of the latest sports advancements and trends. David’s insightful articles have earned him a reputation as a skilled and reliable writer.