When Mirra Andreeva was 16 years old, her idols in tennis used to intimidate her.
Famously, Andreeva called the former world No. 1 “beautiful” after Andy Murray commended the teenager for her early WTA Tour success. But when they first met at Wimbledon a few months later, she was far too shy to introduce herself.
Andreeva listed Ons Jabeur as the player whose style she would most like to imitate, making the Tunisian a far more significant figure in her list of heroes. When they participated in the AO 2024 second round for the first time on tour, she could have been forgiven for feeling a little nervous.
Rather, in their 54 minutes on the court, the world No. 47 was simply perfect against her idol, winning 6-0, 6-2 over the world No. 6 with a deft touch, precise placement, and unwavering composure.
“Before the match, I was really anxious because I’m really inspired by Ons, by her style of play,” Andreeva admitted after earning her first career top-10 victory. “I was so inspired to play on the WTA Tour before I ever watched one of her matches.”
“I had the opportunity to play against her now, and I must admit that I played fantastic tennis in the opening set. To be honest, I didn’t think I could do that.
Making her debut at the Australian Open and competing in her first-ever Grand Slam main draw, Andreeva outplayed Jabeur from the beginning to the end, delivering the most decisive major defeat of her career.
Andreeva faced just one break point during the match, which she easily saved, recording 13 winners against 10 unintentional errors. As Jabeur found it difficult to establish any rhythm against her motivated young opponent, she made 24 unintentional mistakes and only nine winners.
Andreeva became the youngest player in Open history to defeat a top-10 seed in the first set of a Slam at the age of sixteen and two63 days.
In response to a question about her career’s most accomplished performance, she said, “Probably the best match.” As previously mentioned, I had no idea that I would play this well in the first set. The second set wasn’t too bad either.
Thus, to me, it was an incredible fit. I’m really pleased with my performance on the court today.
As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t think I would play this well in the first set. The second set wasn’t too bad either.”
It demonstrated the progress made by the teenager from Siberia since she was defeated by her close friend Alina Korneeva in the thrilling Australian Open girls’ final the previous year.
“I was just really upset when I lost the final.” I was thinking about nothing else at all. I was just mentally reliving the match for maybe a week, Andreeva said. “I should have changed this, should have changed that,” she thought.
“To be honest, I forgot about this match after that, after complaining to myself nonstop. I made the decision to go on. Not the most excruciating loss I’ve ever experienced… I simply moved on.
“I told myself that this time, I had to take a chance and win on the big court for the first time, and I did, when I saw that I play on Rod Laver today.”
It highlights the extraordinary maturity that also assisted Andreeva in controlling her nerves when facing Jabeur.
She said, “I knew she was nervous too, but I was nervous before the match.”
Knowing that I’m not the only one who gets anxious before a match kind of helped me.
Since I’m playing against someone I like at Rod Laver Arena, I just made the decision to enjoy myself. I chose to just have fun, and I believe I did alright.
“I just know that she is who she is and she never change. That’s what I like about her.”
Andreeva’s Grand Slam record is growing; last year, she qualified for both Roland-Garros and Wimbledon and made it to the third and fourth rounds, respectively. Her next opponent will either be Diane Parry or Kamilla Rakhimova.
Jabeur continues to be a source of inspiration for the teen’s career in the interim.
“The manner she conducts herself both on and off the court. Regarding the traits she most admires in the Tunisian, she said, “She’s so nice.”
“Now, following the game, she approached me and wished me luck.” All I know is that she never changes; she is who she is. That’s why I find her appealing.
