With the first take: how Mirra Andreeva feels about her new status

Mirra Andreeva received the biggest salary of her career ($1,124,380) for winning the "thousandth anniversary" in Indian Wells and raised an incredible media wave. The Russian tennis player has probably not created such a stir in the world media since Maria Sharapova's breakthrough in 2004-2005. Even after Daniil Medvedev's triumph at the 2021 US Open, it was somehow quieter. "Sorceress", "princess", "phenomenon", "dream girl" — these are just some of the epithets that are now bestowed on the 17-year-old athlete. In the latest WTA rankings, Mirra rose to a record sixth place.

Boom

A few hours after Mirra's triumph in Indian Wells, where the Russian beat three winners of Grand Slam tournaments, including the first racket of the planet Arina Sobolenko, the world media were filled with stories about the "secrets" of the young champion - about her wonderful work with Spanish coach Conchita Martinez, about the landmarks in men's tennis (Andy Murray and Roger Federer), about the inspiration from an interview with LeBron James ("you become a champion when you give your best"), about an unsuccessful attempt to get a puppy... And of course, about Andreeva's youthful spontaneity and her willingness to make fun of herself. For example, about a quote from a speech by American rapper Snoop Dogg.

"I want to thank myself again," the Russian woman sent the audience to the track of the controversial musician I Wanna Thank Me from 2019. — Thank you for fighting to the end, believing in yourself and not giving up. I tried, although it was difficult — Arina chased me around the court like a rabbit, shooting balls through the net. So I thank myself. I also played a small role in the victory. Throughout the tournament, the whole team took great care of me. I have such an experienced coach, she also helped me a lot — she gave me advice on how to play and how not to spend too much time on the courts without wasting energy. Conchita, I always say that it can be hard with me — and this day was no exception. You often complain that I'm a moody girl, and the morning before the finals was no exception. I was just really nervous. I'm sorry.

Just a year ago, Mirra lost her first match in Indian Wells to American Katie Volynets, a girl from the second hundred ranking, and then withdrew from the Miami Open due to a wrist injury. But soon after, a new stage began in Andreeva's career — before the tournament in Rouen, former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, who previously worked with Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova, joined her team. Since then, the young Russian woman has made a tremendous breakthrough. Now she is going to Miami as one of the favorites, having a streak of 12 wins in a row (and all these victories were achieved at super tournaments). In a little over 11 months, under Martinez's leadership, the native of Krasnoyarsk rose from the fifth ten of the rating to the top 6.

"She got into the top ten very quickly,— Conchita said. — It seems that we have just started, and boom Myrrh is already there. Now we just need to stay calm.

"The current feeling is not at all like what it was before," Mirra said about her first impressions at the zenith of her fame. — Maybe everything is happening too fast, but I like it. I can't say anything bad about it. I accept what is happening. It's not bad to win two tournaments in a row, so I'm really happy, I'm happy with that. I would say I'm a little surprised that I won the title at Indian Wells, but I feel confident in my game and I know what to expect from myself when I step on the court. I think the success came from having such a good team around me. They help me, protect me, and share their experiences. I am incredibly grateful to them for this. Thanks to my team, thanks to my mom and everyone who was with me. Juan, my agent, flew over from Miami specifically for the final. I really appreciate it.

On the path of the great

The victory in Indian Wells was Andreeva's second in a row at the WTA 1000 tournaments. This achievement is rare for Russian tennis players. The last Russian woman to win two thousandths in one season was Maria Sharapova in 2014 (Madrid, Beijing). And the Russians have not won two titles in a row at such tournaments since 2009, when Dinara Safina won in Rome and Madrid. Over the past five years, only Iga Sventek has achieved such a series (Indian Wells and Miami, 2022).

"Of course, we are all happy and proud of our compatriot," State Duma deputy Dmitry Svishchev told Izvestia. — For such a young athlete, this is the third significant prize. It is a great pleasure that she represents the interests of Russia. This is a great victory not only for Mirra, but also for her coaches, family, and the federation. We know that the federation spends a lot of time promoting and popularizing tennis. Mirra still has a huge sporting life ahead of her, she is only 17, and she is already in sixth place in the WTA rankings. We will follow her progress, we wish her many bright and colorful victories, I am sure that they will be. This victory proves once again the strength of our Russian sport.

By the way, Sharapova, who in the past, like Andreeva, was a client of the marketing company IMG, congratulated her compatriot on social networks. But Sobolenko, after failing in the final, jokingly promised to declare a "vendetta" against the Russian. "She may have made a big mistake right now. I already want a rematch," the Belarusian said, promising to get even with Mirra at the next "thousandth", which actually started in Miami.

However, it will be very difficult for Arina to tune in to the fight there — exactly one year ago, on the eve of the Miami Open, the former boyfriend of the first racket of the world Konstantin Koltsov committed suicide. But it's not easy for Andreeva right now either — in addition to public pressure, fast courts will be an important factor, which there is almost no time to adjust to. In any case, Mirra is now in a new reality. And literally everything depends on her ability to adapt to copper pipes in a star's career.

In addition to Mirra, at least 12 more Russians will play in the main draw of the "thousandth" in Miami. Including the older sister of the heroine of recent weeks, Eric Andreeva. In the first round, the 20-year-old native of Krasnoyarsk will face former Russian Elina Avetisyan, who has represented Armenia since last year. It will be very interesting to watch Olympic champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who returns to the tour after 40 days. At 1/32 Magda Linette from Poland will be on her way. Kamilla Rakhimova and Anna Blinkova will start the tournament with a face-to-face match, and the winner of this pair will go to Diana Schneider. Our other young star didn't have a good season. In Indian Wells, Diana was eliminated in the 1/16 finals, and in the Doha-Dubai tournaments she won only one match. It's time to get out of the mini-crisis.