"I'm still a kid sometimes, I can get angry": 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva admits petulance sometimes remains despite stark rise

Mirra Andreeva started the season magnificently with the 17-year-old making her top 15 debut and also fighting through to a narrow loss against Aryna Sabalenka in Brisbane.

But despite the loss, it is all a learning experience as she discussed the Ningbo final which saw her in floods of tears consoled by the champion and close friend Daria Kasatkina.

“This was a bit heavy,” says Andreeva, laughing while speaking to The Guardian. “Not a nice moment. After, with Dasha, we shared nice moments together. She tried to calm me down. I don’t think she succeeded because after that I started crying even more.

“It’s a learning experience, as well. I just have to accept it. Now when I look at those videos when I’m crying, I just laugh at myself because I couldn’t hold it inside. It’s again an experience that had to be there in my career.”

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As well as the role that Conchita Martinez plays. A legend in the sport, she joked that she has been just 'ok' thus far in her development but that she does maintain some petulance as she nears becoming an adult during the clay court season with her 18th birthday in sight.

“I would say that I’m still a kid sometimes,” says Andreeva, smiling. “I can get angry. If [she] said something that I didn’t like, I’m like: ‘OK, well, I’m going to do something that she doesn’t like as well.’ I try to piss her off. She’s like: ‘Oh, my God, what are you doing?’ We start laughing about it and we forget about all of that. I just can be a little pain in the ass sometimes. But she’s doing a good job so far. She’s OK.”

“I think I’m known [as] the person who would think negative most of the time. Even last year in the beginning of the year. Now I’m noticing that it was not right, the way I was thinking, the way I was approaching the matches, what kind of thoughts I have during the match as well.

“When we started working together, she definitely brought some positivity. Now when I miss, for example one year ago: [I would say]: ‘Oh, my God, I cannot play tennis, why am I doing this?’ If I compare myself to this day, I would say: ‘Well, it’s OK. It was a good miss. We just keep working.’ This is the difference.”

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