"Honestly, I didn't feel very tired today on the court" - Mirra Andreeva fit and fresh from title triumph in Austria with fine opening win at Stuttgart Open

Mirra Andreeva continues her progress in the Stuttgart Open with a tight 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 win over Jelena Ostapenko. In a jam-packed period for her, Andreeva stated how she felt physically after winning a WTA 500 title in Austria a few days ago while underlining the differences between the two indoor courts.

After her first round win, Andreeva sat down with the press and touched upon what was a tough but rewarding way to commence her campaign in Germany. "This match was tough today," she began. "She's a very tough opponent to face, especially in the first round. Yeah, the match was tricky. I felt like I obviously didn't play as good as I wanted, but just super happy with the win and happy to advance further."

Ostapenko was the reigning champion, and a dangerous player at any given time. That is why Andreeva had to keep focus against an opponent who it can be hard to find some rhythm against. "I can say that she's not the first player that doesn't really give rhythm," she commented. "I would say that she actually had some kind of rhythm today on the court. But yeah, as I said, she's a very tough opponent to play against, because she just hits the ball very hard, and sometimes you just have to accept that at some moments you just cannot do anything, and you just have to accept that maybe she's gonna be, like, on a roll and hitting winners, winners."

Andreeva felt like she was a passenger at times near the end of the first set. "I felt when she was 6-5 up in the first set, and then she see I was 40-Love up on my serve, and then she hit like five winners in a row and she ended up taking the first set. I'm, like, well, it kind of hurt that I lost the game from 40-Love, but what could I do here? She just hits five winners, and sometimes you just have to accept those things and move on and try to fight and try to find very small opportunities that can bring you back to the match."

Andreeva's schedule at this current moment in time is relentless. She decided to compete in the Upper Austria Ladies Linz when a spot in the tournament opened up. She capitalised on this opportunity, defeating Anastasia Potapova in a thrilling three-set battle after completing a brilliant turnaround in a match she was very much second best at times.

This means she is very prepared for the tournament in Stuttgart as she racks up the number of matches on clay. "I didn't have a day off, so I just kept on practicing, because I'm not that kind of a person that likes to take a day off when I have my match in two days," she stated.

"So when I arrived here to Stuttgart, I just played easy for one hour just to don't lose the feeling of the ball. But, yeah, I mean, I obviously was a little bit tired, but we did everything that we could with the physios as well that helped me to recover a bit better.

She cited her age as a reason on why she may recover quicker than some of her rivals, allowing her to compete in more tournaments. "I mean, I guess I still have a little bit of advantage sometimes that I maybe recover a little bit faster because I'm still pretty young. Honestly, I didn't feel very tired today on the court."

For the first time, the tournament in Linz was held indoors. This matches the setting for Stuttgart with its indoor clay courts a firm staple on the WTA calendar. The Russian has already pinpointed certain aspects that are different when comparing the two.

"I can say here the court is a little bit faster, and I feel like the ball also doesn't bounce as high as it bounced in Linz," she detailed. "I would say it's a little bit more slippery here, but those are just little things that I have noticed, and they obviously, I don't think they make a lot of difference. Even if I notice them, I just have to know how to adjust my game to it and how to be able to play better on this surface."

Andreeva does enjoy playing doubles. She has won some significant titles in this category while also reaching the 2024 Olympic women's doubles final, just coming short. Recently, she has been stepping out onto the court with Victoria Mboko. The young talents both get along very well,

Andreeva wanted to play alongside the Canadian in the Sunshine swing, but that opportunity seemed out of reach. "I texted her, and at first she told me that she was set," she stated. "I don't remember where I texted her first, and she was set already for that tournament. I was, like, 'Okay. We'll play next time.' I asked her again for Indian Wells and Miami. She said, 'I'm set for Indian Wells, but we can play Miami though.' I'm, like, 'how long before the tournament should I ask you for you to be free so we can play together?'"

Nevertheless, something changed and they would step onto the court together at Indian Wells and Miami. "Then I don't know whatever happened, and maybe she messed some things up, and she said, 'Oh, sorry, I'm not set for both of these tournaments,'" she said. "I think maybe she messed up the tournaments or the dates. Yeah, I just asked her, and that's how we played together."

It is expected that the pair of them will take to the court together many more occasions in the future. For the time being, she is reverting back to her usual partner, Diana Shnaider, for the Madrid Open and Rome Open. The pair reached the WTA Finals together last year and share a formidable bond on court.

"That's our old, kind of old collaboration. We both know each other very well. We'll see who I'm gonna play doubles with on the further tournaments, but it's not like I'm obliged to play with one or the other player. I'm just choosing with whoever I'm comfortable with and with whoever I will have fun on the court."

A spot in the quarterfinals is creeping closer for the 18-year-old. She will face American Alycia Parks for the right of a spot in the last-eight. The winner will take on two-time champion Iga Swiatek. However, the focus is first to win what is in front of you.

"I have only played her once, in New York last year, and she's also a very tough opponent to play against, because she also hits the ball very hard," Andreeva recalled. "She has a great serve. I feel like today maybe was also some kind of a preparation for the match tomorrow, because both of my opponents were hitting pretty hard today."

Andreeva dropped just a single game in their one and only matchup, a good sign in her favour that she knows how to get the better of the 25-year-old. "I feel like if I'm able to just keep fighting and play my game whenever I can and try to just force her into points and just, you know, do my thing on the court, we'll see how it's gonna go, but I think I should be, you know, be able to put a fight tomorrow on the court, and I don't think it will be easy for both of us."