For Myrrh all over the world: how Andreeva conquers Madrid and dreams of shoes

Mirra Andreeva became the youngest semi-finalist in Madrid since 2009, when 18-year-old Caroline Wozniacki made it to the top 4. The Russian beat the finalist of the US Open 2021 Leila Fernandez, making herself a great gift for her 19th birthday, which she will celebrate on April 29. The first set was played with the advantage of the Canadian tennis player, but in the end, Mirra won back three set points and was able to put the squeeze on her opponent in a tiebreak. And in the second game, after exchanging pleasantries (the rivals served twice in a row) Andreeva took the initiative and quickly brought the match to victory.

A difficult opponent

In 2023, having received a wild card from the organizers, it was in Madrid that Mirra won her first WTA victories, reaching the fourth round on the move. In 2024, Andreeva took another step forward in the Spanish capital, reaching the quarterfinals, where she lost to Elena Rybakina. Last season, the Russian also stopped at the 1/4 stage, losing to Coco Gauff. The American is now leading 4-0 in personal meetings, being a kind of cryptonite for Myrrh.

However, this year Coco was unable to defend her points for the final, having already been eliminated in the fourth round by Linda Noskova. But Andreeva is already in the semifinals. After winning in Linz, she gained the necessary confidence and looks great on the ground. In Stuttgart, Mirra beat the specialists of this coating — Elena Ostapenko and Iga Sventek, and in her beloved Madrid, where she has been celebrating her birthday in recent years, three Hungarian tennis players and Canadian Leila Fernandez were defeated.

Fernandez started the year very poorly, losing three matches in a row in Australia, but in the spring she gradually began to regain her best form. In Stuttgart, only Rybakina was able to stop Leila. In the quarterfinals, Elena had to play two matchballs: on the reception with the score 4:5 of the decisive set and on the tie-break with 5:6. In Madrid, Fernandez was stronger than Julia Graber, Iva Jovic and Ann Lee. The last one, by the way, dropped out Sventek.

"Leila is not an easy opponent. We will discuss the match with Conchita [Martinez], the game plan, everything necessary. And now the main thing is to recover as soon as possible, return to the hotel and get as much sleep as possible," Andreeva told reporters after a hard—fought victory in the match against Anna Bondar from Hungary.

Continue the series

Bondar gave a real fight. In the decisive set, the Russian almost allowed her opponent to win back from 1:5, but she rallied and took a tiebreak. The meeting lasted almost three hours. Fernandez, in turn, gave only five games to Lee and had much more time to recover.

Maybe it affected the beginning of the first set. In the fourth game, Mirra lost her serve to zero. Andreeva then led 30-0 on the reception, but Fernandez won four draws in a row with powerful punches (4:1). It seemed that after this, the representative of Canada would not miss her advantage in the party, but the Russian had other plans. With the score 4-2, she made a reverse break and seemed to have caught her rhythm. However, at that moment, one of the spectators on the podium became ill, and the match was interrupted for almost 15 minutes. Immediately after the break, the Russian lost three draws in a row, but she was saved by a good serve. Ace and two non-threatening cuts allowed Andreeva to even the score, but then the nervous ending began.

In the 11th game, our tennis player scored three break points (40:0) and one more at even, but Fernandez managed to pull out this game. Mirra was upset, and just a few minutes later, Layla already had two set points. But then the Russian showed composure and brought the matter to a tie-break, in which she literally declassified her opponent. Andreeva did almost everything in those minutes, and the crowning backhand time after time forced Fernandez to capitulate.

The second set started with four consecutive breaks. Mirra was in the catch-up role and was able to take the fourth game to zero. After that, she won six more draws in a row, but failed to take the lead (3-3). The decisive moment of the set was the eighth game. Leila made a double mistake and allowed Andreeva to earn two hidden matchballs. Mirra completed the game with beautiful combinations and went out to serve for the match without unnecessary nerves. As a result, Andreeva did not allow anyone to doubt her superiority and came out ahead in a personal confrontation with Fernandez (2:1).

"I am very pleased with the result,— Mirra told Izvestia. — I am extremely happy with the way I played with Fernandez. I'm glad that I stayed focused, played a lot of break points, set points too. So I'm very happy with the victory and I'm looking forward to tomorrow with great excitement. Do I change with age? As a person, I don't think I'm changing much. It may sound strange, but I've become calmer off the court. Previously, after matches, I wanted to spend time with my family, talk a lot, do something together. Right now, I just want to go back to my room, be alone, read a book, watch a TV series, and use my phone. I don't want to talk to people. Perhaps there is a change in this. But otherwise, I feel like the same Myrrh that I was a couple of years ago. A dream at the moment... I want a pair of high-heeled shoes.

Previously, both times, when the Russian was able to get past the quarterfinals on the thousandth, she took the title. Hopefully, this series will continue. But Mirra has already made herself a wonderful birthday present, which she will celebrate on the court: on April 29, with Diana Schneider, she will hold a doubles quarterfinal with eighth seeds Demi Schuers and Ellen Perez.