"I don’t know why, but lately I really want a nice pair of high heels" - Mirra Andreeva to enjoy day off shoe shopping ahead of Madrid Open semi-final

Mirra Andreeva was in a cheery mood after confirming her spot in the semi-final stage of the Madrid Open for the very first time in her career. She defeated Leylah Fernandez 7-6(1), 6-3 and after the match underlined what she wanted for her upcoming birthday.

She has earned herself an early present a day before turning 19. After two successive quarterfinal exits in Madrid, the Russian has finally managed to find a way past this tricky stage. She was coming off the back of an emotional and hard-fought battle against Anna Bondar the day before, managing to scrape through with a win, but in difficult circumstances.

A sense of irritation throughout the match surrounded Andreeva, with her team trying to calm her down and get her focused on the task at hand. Her serve was under severe pressure early on. She survived three break points in the second game before finding herself trailing the former US Open finalist 3-1.

She got back on form later in the set, levelling up at 4-4. Crucial break points missed at the end of the set led to a tiebreak, but that could have been so different. Andreeva failed to take four break points on her rivals serve before three set points for Fernandez came and went. Andreeva breathed a huge sigh of relief as she breezed to a tiebreak success.

The second set would eventually go the way of Andreeva despite the topsy-turvy nature of it. After four consecutive breaks, Andreeva lost just one game from that moment. She sealed the win with a positive burst at the end while Fernandez seemingly ran out of steam.

Andreeva will have the day off to celebrate her 19th birthday in the Spanish capital before stepping back onto court in a third WTA 1000 semi-final appearance.

"Honestly, every time I play in Madrid, my number one goal is to still be here to celebrate my birthday," she said. "For me, it wouldn’t be a perfect birthday if I lost today and my birthday was tomorrow. So I really didn’t want that to happen. I was trying to give everything I had to be in a good mood tomorrow. So yeah, I’m super, super happy about that."

There were no secrets about what presents she wanted for her special day. "I don’t know why, but lately I really want a nice pair of high heels," she admitted. "I’ve been looking at some pairs in different shops, so I’ll have to consult with my family and we’ll see."

Walking in high heels is not an easy task without experience. She remains cautious about how high the shoes will be. "Honestly, if the heels are about this high, I’m okay. But if they’re any higher, I’m afraid I might break my foot—and that wouldn’t be very good. So I’ll try to find something with a small heel—maybe like a kitten heel."

After going shoe shopping, she will set her sights on that semi-final clash. Either world number one and reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka or the inform Hailey Baptiste will be her next opponent. It will certainly be a tricky match whoever she faces, but she has fought valiantly over the last week of tennis and will fancy her chances against whoever she is pitched against.