How Roger Federer helped Mirra Andreeva win French Open as she receives special message | Tennis | Sport

Mirra Andreeva has admitted that she was channelling Roger Federer as she claimed a maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open. The eighth seed beat qualifier Maja Chwalinska 6-3 6-2 to lift the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen. It was the teenager’s first Major final, but she rarely showed signs of nerves. At one point, she won nine games in a row.

And the newly-crowned champion said she was trying to “impersonate” 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer on the court, something that she believes helped her stay calm and composed in the most important match of her career.

Andreeva was once known for her struggles on the court. On her French Open debut just three years ago, she avoided a default when she whacked a ball away in frustration while facing Coco Gauff.

Earlier this year in Indian Wells, she destroyed a racket and swore at the crowd during a third-round exit. And she was in tears after losing the Madrid Open final to Marta Kostyuk just a few weeks ago.

But the 19-year-old never looked unsettled during her run to a first Major title, even getting revenge over Kostyuk in the semis. After getting broken when she served for the match at 5-1 in the second set, Andreeva broke to clinch victory in the next game. And she credited Federer for helping her stay calm.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that there was, like, a big reset or something that I just decided to switch completely or to change the approach for matches. There was nothing like this,” Andreeva said of her cool demeanour.

“I just decided that, like my psychologist says, you can always choose how you’re going to be on the court and how you’re going to play and who you’re going to be as a person as well. So I just decided to choose to be a fighter.

“And I also felt like – I watched a lot of Roger’s matches here, and I felt like I really want to – I’m not going to have, obviously, the same aura, like ever. No one is going to have the same aura, but I really want to try to impersonate the way he behaves a little bit on the court, because I love watching him on the court when he used to play.

“Maybe that helped me a little bit, because I wanted to look good on the court, not be frustrated or be not happy with how I play. Also, for the people, it’s nice to watch how, you know, players try their best and fight and compete. I just felt like that’s what I wanted to do, and that’s what I was focusing on.”

And Federer wasn’t the only one who spurred Andreeva on. The 19-year-old was inspired by fellow Russian former champions Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova. And the latter even sent her a special message ahead of the final.

“Of course, I remember [Sharapova] winning here. Obviously, you know, she’s played amazing on clay,” she added. “So obviously I knew that she was also here in Paris, and I was hoping – I don’t know if she was watching the final, but I was hoping that she was. Obviously I’ve been thinking to myself that if she’s watching, it would be really nice to show good tennis, some good level.

“I also know that Sveta Kuznetsova, she was also here. She sent me a little voice message before the match like, you know, trying to give me a lot of positive thoughts and a little bit of encouragement, like, Hey, be happy, it’s your first Grand Slam final, how exciting, just enjoy this moment. I really appreciated that as well, and I hope that they both watched the final and enjoyed it.”

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