"I hope that will be possible": Mirra Andreeva names her idol in tennis

Russia’s young tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva has named the former world number one, Switzerland’s Roger Federer, as her idol. The 18-year-old is already regarded as the one for the future and has already produced some impressive performances on the court.

This year, the youngster lifted her maiden WTA 1000 title after beating the reigning world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Indian Wells with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Before that, she lifted the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship after beating Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the final in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-1. Her most recent outing was at the Madrid Open, where her journey ended in the quarterfinal after losing to world number four America’s Coco Gauff in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-1.

The 18-year-old was recently quoted in a report by English media outlet Daily Express, in which she named Switzerland’s Federer her idol and stated that she would like to meet the former world number one.

"My tennis idol has always been Roger Federer,” she said. “Then, of course, there was Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray... Also, Marat Safin. There are many players I've admired and who have inspired me. I dream of meeting them. I met Rafa here last year, but I didn't get to talk to him. I'd also like to meet Roger; I hope that will be possible.”

Federer remains one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 20 Grand Slam titles. The 43-year-old was the first player in men’s tennis to win more than 15 major titles and the first player in men’s tennis to win 20 major titles. Another incredible feat of Federer was that he stayed world number one for a consecutive 237 weeks, which is a record in men’s tennis.