‘Andy Murray texted to wish me good luck – maybe that’s why I’m playing well!’ Mirra Andreeva on Roland-Garros dreams

Mirra Andreeva – aged 16 – opened her Roland-Garros account with an impressive 6-2, 6-1 win over Alison Riske-Amritraj.

And she wonders whether it might be something to do with a good luck message from one of her heroes, Andy Murray – the man she described as “beautiful” and “amazing” when she saw him in person at the Mutua Madrid Open. (Murray, famously, responded with a dry tweet: “Imagine how good she’s going to be when she gets her eyes fixed.”)

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“After he won a Challenger, I texted him,” she laughed in her press conference. “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!”

‘Sabalenka kicked my ass’

Andreeva’s run in Madrid was curtailed by Aryna Sabalenka in the round of 16, with the world No 2 coming out on top 6-3, 6-1. Asked what she learnt from that experience, the teenager was characteristically honest.

“Honestly, she kicked my ass. I’m sorry, but she really did.

“At that time I didn’t really have time to think between the points and during the points because she was playing really fast. So maybe I could just maybe change rhythm more, but it was a good match for me.

“It was a good experience even though I won just four games, but I guess it was a good lesson if I’m here now. Maybe if I will play her, then I can take revenge. Who knows? So we will see.”

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