Roller-coaster ride continues for Mirra Andreeva in more ways than one as 17-year-old yearns for Cincinnati adrenaline rush

Mirra Andreeva picked up a real scalp on her return to the Cincinnati Open after an up and down few weeks. She eased past Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-2 and will continue on for another few days in Cincinnati.

Enough time in fact to visit the Kings Island amusement park. The 17-year-old was drawn to a rollercoaster of a different kind in Cincinnati after going through plenty of highs and drops in Paris.

“It’s not like I love them,” Andreeva told Tennis Channel. "But sometimes I’m in the mood to scream my lungs out, and on roller coasters you can scream the hell out of yourself. Sometimes I can find them scary but other times I’m in that mood to scream and enjoy.”

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She played the Olympic Games and came away with a silver medal despite not performing in the singles. Teaming with fellow high flying star Diana Shnaider, she also had the duo of herself and Daniil Medvedev to learn off.

“I love to play on those courts,” the 17-year-old said on Roland Garros. "I didn’t have a choice! I had to win at least one match there,” joked Andreeva. “With this mindset, I went on the court, and Diana helped me win a match at the Olympics. That’s how we got it done.”

“It was an amazing experience for me. I didn’t have high expectations but I felt like we could play good. He (Medvedev) tried to calm me down before the match, telling me, ‘If we lose, we lost together. If we win, we win together. Don’t worry, I’ll always support you.’ I told him, ‘Well, you don’t have a choice!’”

Mirra Andreeva struck up a chord with fellow rising star Diana Shnaider in Paris.

“I wasn’t nervous; I was enjoying the atmosphere because I love to play doubles, especially mixed doubles because I feel like it can open up new opportunities and levels to your game.”

But now it is about adapting again. From winning at Iasi on clay to Olympic Games to back to hard courts. “It’s a bit tricky to come from clay to hard courts, especially when you had a great tournament before,” she said. “Honestly, I didn’t even really have time to celebrate the medals. Right away, we went home and I started to practice again, so it was all a bit of a rush.

“When I arrived here a few days before the tournament, I played so bad! I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is not going to be good!’ But thank God, we arrived four or five days before, so I had time to adjust a little bit, play more on the courts. Day by day, it got better. That’s how I managed to play not bad today!”