Andreeva – about the victory over Gracheva at Roland Garros: “It’s always difficult to play against a friend”

Russian tennis player Mirra Andreeva said it was not easy for her to resist Varvara Gracheva at Roland Garros, since she is her friend, and also noted that she faced pressure from fans who supported her opponent.

In the fourth round of Roland Garros, the 17-year-old Russian defeated Gracheva, who plays for France, with a score of 7:5, 6:2. The meeting lasted an hour and a half. Previously, Gracheva represented Russia.

— You are only 17 years old, you have reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, congratulations.

– Thank you, it’s an incredible feeling. It’s always difficult to play against a friend, someone you know very well. I knew it would be a difficult match not only from a playing point of view, but also from a psychological point of view. I prepared for everything. It was a bit difficult to play against the French public (laughs). I’m glad I was able to get through all of this, thank you for your support – not all, but some.

— When I look at your game, I see that you remain calm, despite your youth. How do you do that?

“I have to thank the coach for that.” We’ve been working on this together over the past few months. I am improving, I keep my cool in difficult times, this leads to success.

— You said that you were close friends with Gracheva and that you studied together at the academy. It’s normal for the public to support their athlete, but you said you liked the atmosphere.

“I knew it would be difficult, but I know how to use this kind of behavior from the fans. When the fans are against me, I try to turn the situation in my favor. When they shouted: “Varvara, Varvara”, I tried to imagine that they were shouting my name, that helped me,” Andreeva said in an on-field interview.

The Russian will compete with the world’s second racket, Belarusian Arina Sabalenka, to reach the semi-finals.

More sports news in our telegram channel .