"I was 16 and I lost to Coco and she ended up winning a tournament": Mirra Andreeva looks to finally break US Open second round hoodoo

Russia’s Mirra Andreeva has shared her thoughts about being compared to former world number one Maria Sharapova. The 18-year-old is currently taking part in the US Open, where she cemented her spot in the second round of the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year with a thumping win over America’s Alycia Parks in straight sets with a score of 6-0, 6-1.

Andreeva, after the match, spoke to the media where she was asked about how she feels to be compared with the likes of the former world number one Sharapova, who was recently inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. In response to that, Andreeva stated that it feels ‘great’ to be compared to someone like Sharapova, who, according to her, has done everything in an ‘amazing way’.

“She's such an icon in terms of tennis wise, mental wise, even fashion wise,” said Andreeva. “Like she's done everything in an amazing way. And yeah, recently I saw that she she was in the Hall of Fame. And I think that's incredible. That's an incredible achievement. And yeah, obviously, I'm super not super happy, but I'm like, I kind of accept it in a good way that a lot of people compare me to her and to what she did when she was playing. I still think that obviously we're two different players, two different people. And we still have like our two different careers and two different ways in tennis. But, you know, when people compare it to such an incredible player as her, obviously it feels nice. It feels great. So, yeah, I'm just happy to hear that people talk about this.”

Andreeva came into the competition after featuring in just two matches on the hard court after Wimbledon. Those matches came at the Canadian Open. Interestingly, in one match, Andreeva was given a walkover. In contrast, in the other, she was knocked out of the competition after losing in the round of 32 to McCartney Kessler in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-4. Talking about how she was feeling while coming into the match, Andreeva admitted that she was ‘nervous’.

“Yeah, I was very nervous going into this match,” said Andreeva. “But I'm just happy the way I dealt with the pressure and with my nerves. Lately, I saw her results. She's been playing well, especially in Monterrey. So, yeah, I saw that match a little bit. So I just tried to stay super focused throughout the whole match. And yeah, it was not easy. First-round matches are always tricky. So I'm just super happy overall with the level I showed today on the court. Yeah, of course, I had those kind of thoughts that I didn't really have a lot of matches on hard court after Wimbledon. Just won in Montreal. So, yeah, but I just told myself that there's nothing I can do about it. So it's a Grand Slam and I just have to go and try and show my best tennis. And that's what I tried to do today. And I think it was not bad.”

Andreeva does not have an excellent record while playing at the US Open, as it remains the only major event where she has never been able to secure a spot beyond the second round. Speaking about that, Andreeva stated that she is well aware of her record and is focusing on extending her run at the Flashing Meadows.

“Yeah, honestly, I don't know,” said Andreeva. “I've been thinking about it that if I win this match, I really just, you know, should do 200 percent of what I can to win the second round match because, you know, two times I played here, I lost in a second round. I mean, in 2023, OK, you can give me some credit. I was 16 and I lost to Coco and she ended up winning a tournament. So, OK, it's fine. But, yeah, last year I lost to Kreuger and she was playing great. It was a really great match from her and I was super nervous as well coming into that match. But I'm just hoping that this time, this year is going to be a little bit different and I'm going to do everything I can to, you know, kind of break that curse and move on, you know, just to stay here a little bit longer and move further into the tournament.”