"She belongs to be where she is": Gauff lauds Andreeva after winning teenage battle at Roland Garros

Coco Gauff faced a tricky challene in 16-year old Mirra Andreeva but the American was able to rise to the occasion and win the match in three sets.

The first set was a close one which Andreeva navigated a bit better than Gauff who sprayed too many errors. The American readjusted well in the next two sets and outplayed Andreeva who wasn't sure what to do with the speedy American. After the match, Gauff lauded Andreeva for the way she played and the things she did so far in her career:

“Mirra is super young with a big future. I remember playing here at 16. She has a lot to look forward to and you’ll see many matches between the two of us. I had chances in the first set, serving for it and trading breaks. I got undisciplined in the tie-break, but overall, I knew the game plan and tried to execute that in the second and third sets."

She then added:

"For me, most of the first part [of my career], I was playing people for the first time a lot. I’m used to it. We practised together this week, so I’m sure she picked up some of my tendencies, as I did. I don’t know if it made a difference, but it’s all about adjustment, that’s tennis. We played a practice match, playing well. I was impressed with her level, and she belongs to be where she is. She deserves to go even further. I was happy with the crowd today. I wasn’t sure if [they’d] be cheering for me today. They usually do, but I know Mirra has a lot of fans. I was impressed that it was 50/50, and that makes the match more enjoyable to play.”

She faces Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the next round.