Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva says a text message from Andy Murray provided inspiration as she won the first Grand Slam match of her career.
Andreeva, 16, beat American Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2 6-1 on Tuesday.
After a stunning run in Madrid last month, Andreeva called Murray “beautiful” and said in Paris she had texted him before the clay-court major.
“He said ‘Thank you, and good luck in Roland Garros’. Maybe that’s why I’m playing that good now,” she said.
Andreeva is the youngest player in the French Open main draw and needed just 56 minutes to reach the second round.
Her friendship with Murray began when she shot to prominence at the Madrid Open, where she also described the British former world number one as “amazing”.
After reaching the last 16 on her 16th birthday, she was asked what it was like rubbing shoulders with the most recognisable stars of the sport.
“When you’re here and take a lunch with all these stars, you see Andy Murray, you see his face and he’s so beautiful in life. He is so amazing,” she said.
Murray responded with typical humour, tweeting: “Imagine how good she’s going to be when she gets her eyes fixed!”
After beating Riske-Amritraj, Andreeva revealed she had messaged 36-year-old Murray to congratulate him on winning the recent ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
“He actually answered me, so I was really happy about it,” she smiled.
Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur is another established player who Andreeva has been interacting with.
She described the Wimbledon and US Open finalist as one of her idols and says she would like to practise with the world number seven one day.
“Hopefully we can play each other,” said Jabeur, although they would not be able to meet at Roland Garros until the semi-finals.
“I can give her a signed picture. She can put it in her bedroom. I don’t know. This is the first time that somebody says that. But it’s special.”
Source – BBC Sport
Share your thoughts