19 January 2024 , 12:03
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Mirra Andreeva says she will print out and frame Andy Murray’s comments about her after the British tennis legend praised the 16-year-old superstar.
Andreeva was delighted to learn that Murray had tuned in to watch her win over France’s Diane Parry at the Australian Open. She came from a set down to prevail 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 in Melbourne and book a place in the fourth round to continue her ascent in the sport.
The Russian teenager had been close to crashing out when she trailed 5-1 in the deciding set. But she showed plenty of determination to go with undoubted talent to recover and progress – and impress Murray.
Murray tweeted: “Andreeva down 5-1 in third. Commentator ‘she really needs to work on the mental side of her game.. she’s too hard on herself when she’s losing’ 30 minutes later 7-6 Andreeva wins. Maybe the reason she turned the match round is because of her mental strength. Maybe she turned the match around because she is hard on herself and demands more of herself when she’s losing/playing badly? Winner.”
Andreeva was then told of her admirer in the post-match press conference. “I didn’t really think that he would watch a match, then after he would tweet, he would comment something,” she said. “Honestly, I will try to print it out somehow. I don’t know, I will put it in a frame. I will bring it everywhere with me. I will maybe put it on the wall so I can see it every day.”
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The youngster is a huge fan of the three-time Grand Slam winner, having gone viral in April after gushing over the Scotsman in an interview. Speaking after a win at the Madrid Open, Andreeva said: “The atmosphere is so special. You take lunch with all these stars, let’s say. You see Andy Murray... you see his face and he’s so beautiful in life. He’s so amazing,”
Mirra Andreeva came from 5-1 down in the deciding set against Diane Parry (Robert Prange/Getty Images)Murray is known for his dry sense of humour and he soon fired off a self-deprecating tweet which read: "Imagine how good she’s going to be when she gets her eyes fixed.”
Andreeva has continued to defy her inexperience, with the win over Parry showing a whole range of attributes. “Because I won the last time I played her, I had kind of an advantage,” she said. “I felt that maybe I should win because I won pretty easily on the score. When you think like this, it always happens like 1-6 in the first set. Then I just decided to fight, to win one game at a time.
“Maybe being harsh on myself actually helped me. I just try to think positively. This harshness, let’s say, helped me with it because I am not very positive in my head usually. I just kept pushing myself. I was saying not good words to myself.”