Mirra
Andreeva said that she hopes to learn from
Roger Federer after her controversy
at
Wimbledon.
The
16-year-old tennis player competed in her second Grand Slam main draw, her
first at Wimbledon, where she reached the fourth round before being eliminated
by American player Madison Keys.
Andreeva
made her way through the qualifying rounds in her first WTA tournament on grass
and defeated two seeded players in the main draw: Barbora Krejcikova (10th
seed) in the second round and Anastasia Potapova (22nd seed) in the third
round.
In her
match against Keys, the Russian player took the advantage in the first set with
a 6-3 win and was leading 4-1 in the second set. However, the former US Open
finalist used her experience to turn the match around and eventually won 3-6,
7-6(4), 6-2.
During the
third set, Andreeva shed tears between games and had a moment towards the end
of the match where, after slipping, her racket flew to the ground. She stated
that it was an accident.
She also
had a strong disagreement with the chair umpire after receiving a sanction,
resulting in the loss of a point and giving Keys a match point in the final
game.
Andreeva
compared her behavior to that of Roger Federer in his early years as a
professional, where he was often seen discussing and dealing with his emotions
on the court:
"I
knew that Federer was struggling with emotions when he was a teenager,” claimed
Andreeva.
“Actually,
when I was younger, I saw that, well, he was struggling also. I'm not the only
one who also struggles. I thought that I just need to wait a little bit and it
will go away. But it doesn't work like this. You just have to work on yourself.”
"As faster
you'll do it, then the results will come also faster, I think. I started to
work on myself just with myself. I think it works pretty good now, yes,"
she added.
"It was an amazing experience," Andreeva and the positive side of her Wimbledon journey.
The Russian
player received a financial fine from the tournament organizers totaling 8000
euros, which is the highest fine imposed on a participant at the 2023
Wimbledon. However, Andreeva emphasized the experience she gained from her
second Grand Slam appearance.
"For
me, it was an amazing experience, as you said,”
“Amazing
matches I've played here. First time on grass. I'm happy with my result, but
also at the same time, I'm sad and disappointed a little bit. Next year I hope,
and I will do my best, to do better."
Andreeva
will be participating in the
Ladies Open Lausanne in two weeks, where she is seeded
7th in a draw that features the world No. 14, Belinda Bencic, as the main
favorite.