“I didn’t miss one ball in warm-up”: Mirra Andreeva reveals strange pre-match nervousness after perfection

Mirra Andreeva reached the Roland-Garros semi-finals for the second time in her career after a comprehensive 6-0, 6-3 victory over Sorana Cîrstea, extending a run in Paris that has combined controlled baseline tennis with increasing match authority as the tournament has progressed.

The Russian teenager produced a performance that underlined her growing consistency on clay, particularly in Grand Slam conditions. Across the tournament she has dropped only one set and has progressively reduced the number of games conceded in each round.

Her latest win follows earlier straight-sets victories over Marie Bouzkova and Jil Teichmann, before delivering a near-complete performance in the quarter-finals. The result strengthens her status at Roland-Garros, where she now holds a 16-3 career record, her strongest return at any major.

Andreeva’s semi-final return also reconnects her with her breakthrough run at the tournament two years ago, when she reached the last four before losing to Jasmine Paolini. The current version of her game, however, has been marked by greater control of tempo and shot selection across all phases of play.

The quarter-final was effectively decided in the opening set, where Andreeva produced a bagel against Cîrstea, dictating rallies from the first games and limiting the Romanian’s ability to build rhythm on serve or return.

“I felt like I didn’t miss one ball during the warm-up so I kind of got a little bit nervous after that, because usually when you have an amazing warm-up you don’t play the same way during the match," Mirra Andreeva said. "But I just found myself being very, very focused, very aggressive, going for my shots all the time and I was just in the zone, I guess.”

It took just 22 minutes for Andreeva to close the opening set, winning up to 74% of total points played. In the second set, Cîrstea found slightly better timing, but it was not enough to challenge Andreeva’s control, with the Russian sealing a 6-0, 6-3 victory in 57 minutes.

“I’m super happy that I’m going to be playing in semis again,” the world No.8 added. “I felt like it was one of my best matches so far this tournament and super happy to be back in semis. It was a great match with Cîrstea and I’m just super, super happy about the win today.”

Andreeva’s return to the Roland-Garros semi-finals adds another layer to a tournament where she has repeatedly elevated her level as the draw has progressed. Her progression has been marked by diminishing game losses: six conceded against Bouzkova, five against Teichmann, and just three against Cîrstea.

“Super happy with how I was playing today,” the 19-year-old said. “I felt like it was one of my best matches so far this tournament and super happy to be back in semis and it was a great match. So I’m just, yeah, super, super happy about the win today.”

Her previous semi-final experience in Paris, two years ago, ended in defeat to Jasmine Paolini. Since then, her emphasis has shifted towards sustaining intensity over longer stretches of tournaments, rather than isolated high-level performances.

“Yeah, I guess last time I was in semis was two years ago so maybe it is kind of a long time. But I believe everything happens for a reason. If I was not able to reach the semis of another Grand Slam then I guess that’s what should have happened. I’m happy that I’m back in the semi-finals again and I’m just going to try to keep using the same mindset, giving my best, giving my 100% no matter what happens.”