"Honestly I'm so tired of playing against her" jokes Mirra Andreeva as Aryna Sabalenka Australian Open clash set

Mirra Andreeva has played Aryna Sabalenka a lot during her rise to prominence with a fifth meeting set up in the coming days when they face off for a spot in the Quarter-Finals of the Australian Open.

Andreeva joked that she was sick of playing her after she took down Magdalena Frech 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 on Friday. She became only the third woman in the past 30 years to reach back-to-back fourth rounds at the tournament.

“Honestly, I’m so tired of playing against her. I played her four or five times already. So, yeah, it’s a lot. What can I say? Here we are again,” Andreeva said during her press conference.

“I know that it’s going to be an entertaining match, and of course, I’m going to do everything possible. I’m going to give my best. I think it’s going to be interesting to watch.”

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But while she defeated her in a Grand Slam match at Roland Garros, she remarked it is completely different surfaces. “I would say that playing her on a clay court and a hard court is a completely different match."

“Playing her on a clay court is, I would say, a bit easier. Of course on the hard courts, like here in Melbourne, I would say that for me is one of the fastest hard courts.

“This is not going to be easy. We’re just gonna see if I can handle the pressure and everything that’s gonna happen.”

She was named as one of the players who would have most success by her other peers and it was one that certainly did surprise her.

“I was pretty surprised that a lot of people said my name,” she admitted. "I don’t feel any pressure about this. I’m sure that it’s a matter of time until I’m in the top 10.

“I have a lot of points to defend this year, so we’re gonna see. It’s pretty interesting for me to see how I can deal with that pressure, but when everyone is saying, ‘Okay, she’s gonna be top 10.”

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