Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva will not let herself get carried away by comparisons with Emma Raducanu’s US Open win in 2021 after she stormed into the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Qualifier Andreeva, the youngest woman in the main draw at 16-years-old, again showed why she is the talk of the tennis world with an accomplished display in a 6-2 7-5 victory against compatriot Anastasia Potapova in round three.
This victory in 95 minutes bettered her debut grand-slam showing of making the third round at Roland Garros last month and made it six wins in a row on grass after she came through qualifying.
Comparisons are already being drawn to Raducanu’s triumph at Flushing Meadow as a qualifier two years ago.
But Andreeva insisted: “Of course, in 2021 she did amazing job. Everyone was impressed. I think she was impressed also to pass the qualies and to win the slam at 18. It’s amazing but me, I just try to not think about it.
“I think it will disturb me, all these thoughts. I just try to play every match and don’t think how far I have gone already or which round I’m playing, against who I’m playing.
“I just try to play every point. Doesn’t matter against who, doesn’t matter which round. I just play my game. I don’t change anything mental-wise, tennis-wise.
“When I played my first match in qualies, I just didn’t have any expectations because it was my first match on grass. I just tried to give it all on the court.
“Since that first match, I actually found the right rhythm. Now it’s working pretty good, I can say. So, honestly, as I said, I did not have any expectations. I just play.
“I always say that it’s a game. The game will decide who will win the match.”
Andreeva lost the Australian Open juniors final in January before she grabbed headlines at the French Open with a fine run, losing in three sets to fellow teenager Coco Gauff.
In her defeat to Gauff, Andreeva put herself at risk of being defaulted when some youthful petulance saw her swipe a ball angrily into the crowd during a tense moment in the tie.
While she got away with a code violation, it appears to be a moment the Krasnoyarsk-born right-hander has learned from and when 4-1 down in the second set against Potapova, she showed impeccable poise to keep calm and book a fourth-round meeting with Madison Keys.
Andreeva, who did allow herself the odd punch to the leg in tense occasions, revealed: “Honestly, after Paris I just had quite a long talk with myself, just me and myself, and that’s it.
“I talked to myself. I just talked. I don’t know, just in my head I realised some things. I took some decisions that I think are now important for me.
“I think I did a good job because now everything is working so far.”
Andreeva’s Wimbledon debut is taking place the year after Russian and Belarusian players were banned from the event following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Her exploits in SW19 are being cheered on from her home country, with her grandfather Petr – on his birthday – among those cheering her on from afar.
“Today is the birthday of my grandpa,” the world number 102 said.
“They were watching my match, like 50 people that they invited. Today I received much more support, much more kind messages from my family.
“I spoke to my grandparents already. I said happy birthday. Today, yes, I can say that I received a lot of messages from my family.
“I also feel the support from Krasnoyarsk. A lot of people are supporting me.”
Madrid champion Swiatek keen to maintain level at Italian Open
Iga Swiatek will not rest on her laurels after overcoming Aryna Sabalenka in last week's Madrid Open final, pledging to learn from that gruelling battle ahead of the Italian Open.
Swiatek toppled Sabalenka in an enthralling battle between the world's top two players on Saturday, saving three championship points en route to a 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) win in over three hours on court.
The world number one has now won every European clay court tournament at WTA 500 level or higher, including back-to-back triumphs in Rome in 2021 and 2022.
As she prepares to open her Italian Open campaign against either Caroline Dolehide or a qualifier on Friday, Swiatek is determined to ensure she does not let her level drop.
Speaking during an appearance on the WTA Insider Podcast, Swiatek said: "I feel like after such a match, I deserve a two-month vacation, but I can't have that so I'll trade it for six tiramisus or something!
"I can let it go and rest and just forget about it, or I can really take a big lesson from it, so it depends on what is going to happen in the next few weeks in terms of how I analyse it."
Swiatek's latest win – her seventh in 10 meetings with Sabalenka – saw her put further distance between herself and the world number two in the WTA rankings.
However, the four-time grand slam champion knows she cannot afford to let up, given the fierce competition on the WTA tour.
"I'm not thinking about Aryna when I'm practising, but it's more that I know that the competition is big and if I stop for a while I might be pushed out," Swiatek said.
"But I had this kind of thing in Rome 2022, with the final against Ons [Jabeur]. Physically, I was so tired. The rallies were long, Ons was playing a pretty tricky game.
"So after that game for the next few years, when I was doing the worst practices on court and I was dying, I was thinking about that game."
Sinner will only play Roland Garros if '100 per cent' fit
Jannik Sinner says that he is aiming to make a return for Roland-Garros if he is "100 per cent" fit following a hip issue.
The world number two withdrew from the Madrid Open last week ahead of his quarter-final tie with Felix Auger-Aliassime due to the injury.
Sinner confirmed on Saturday that he will not be playing in what would be a home tournament in Rome.
Providing an update on his progress on Sunday, Sinner said: "I went back to Monte-Carlo, we did some more tests, which made me take this hard decision because I have to skip the most special tournament of the year for me.
"I have to accept it even if it hurts me and many fans. We realised something is not totally good. If it is not 100 per cent healed, I'll stay out a little longer. Caring for the body is much more important than everything else.
"I’ll just try to get back to 100 per cent as soon as possible, hopefully trying to play in Paris and then Wimbledon and all the rest.
"We'll take our time, there's no rush and, hopefully, I can get back very, very soon."
Nadal and Djokovic on opposite sides of Italian Open draw
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could meet in the Italian Open final after being positioned on opposite sides of the draw.
Nadal, a record 10-time champion at the tournament, could meet reigning champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals should they both get that far, while newly crowned Madrid Open winner, Andrey Rublev, would be a potential semi-final opponent.
In the top half of the draw, Djokovic will take on either Roman Safiullin or a qualifier in his first competitive appearance since Monte Carlo.
The Serbian, who is just two wins away from his 1100th tour-level career victory, is seeded to face Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals. Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov are also on their side of the draw.
Meanwhile, top seed Iga Swiatek has been drawn in the opposite half of the draw to Elena Rybakina, the reigning Italian Open champion.
Swiatek is projected to face Coco Gauff in the semi-finals for the second consecutive WTA 1000 event should they both progress.
Rybakina is due to meet second seed Aryna Sabalenka at the same stage, having lost to the Belarusian at last week’s Madrid Open semi-finals.
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