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

The youngest woman to qualify for Roland-Garros this millennium thinks she knows why she’s in such good form

Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in action during her round of 16 match against Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)

May 30, 2023

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.”)

‘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.”