THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 6, 2023

Mirra Andreeva

Press Conference

M. ANDREEVA/B. Krejcikova

6-3, 4-0 (ret.)

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the press conference of Mirra Andreeva.

Mirra, tell us a little bit about the match today and how you're feeling right now.

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Of course I'm super happy with my win, but it's not the way I wanted to win the match, of course. She had some problems with her foot. Of course, I wish her the speedy recovery. I know it's been tough for her.

But yeah, for sure it's not the way I wanted to win the match. But still I advance to the next round, so I'm happy with that.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Is this your first experience of playing on grass? Have you managed to meet Andy Murray yet?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Yes, it is my first experience on grass. It's just my fifth match. I like the grass so far. I'm not playing that bad.

I met Andy Murray here. But I'm too shy to talk to him. When I see him, I try to leave the facility super quick just to not to talk to him because I'm super shy (smiling).

Q. How have you adapted your game to grass? What have you changed in your game?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Honestly not so much. It was kind of difficult for me the first days to find a rhythm. I honestly didn't change a lot. I just found a new rhythm for this surface. That's it.

Q. There's been a lot of waiting around during the past few days because of the weather. How do you like to spend your time when you are waiting around in the venue? Do you like not to be here when things are not good weather-wise?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: So I was supposed to play first round Tuesday I think. We didn't play that day. I was just trying to stay in a quiet place with my team around. We had a good atmosphere, a lot of jokes. We laughed a lot.

I just like to stay with my team and somewhere that there is not a lot of people because it's too noisy, for example, in cafeteria.

I just tried to stay with my team, and we just wait. We have nothing to do but wait.

Q. You mentioned this is your first experience on grass. What role has Wimbledon played so far in your life? What memories do you have?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: It's definitely different compared to the other slams I've played. Compared to French Open, it's like wow, super beautiful here. It's super traditional. French Open is, like, I don't know, kind of simple, and here everything is like the white clothes, the grass, the strawberries, of course.

I don't know. The Wimbledon, I like it much better so far (smiling).

Q. You surprised everyone at the French Open where you said you wanted to beat the Grand Slam record of 23 by Novak Djokovic. Have you set a goal for this tournament, for this Wimbledon?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Of course, I always want to win, doesn't matter which tournament, which round. I always go to win.

I will just do my best. If I can advance to the round of 16, I will be super happy. If I can advance to the semifinal, I will be of course super happy.

I will just try to do my best, then we will see what will I do. But honestly I don't have any goals. I just play.

Q. You've had an amazing couple of months. What would you say are the main reasons behind it on and off the court?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: I don't know. I just kind of changed a little bit. Since Australia, for example, I've played a juniors final. I just realized that actually at the same time the tennis is hard sport but also if you look at it you just play. It's just a game. Everything decides on the match.

I don't know. I think now I'm just trying to take it just as a game, and maybe that's why. I don't know. I'm just trying to play. I'm just trying to enjoy. I'm just trying to win as many points as I can. I'm just trying to run on every balls, and to put as many balls on the court as I can.

Maybe this is the reason. I don't know.

Q. You think it's a mental change? Your game is similar to Australia?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Maybe. Of course, I think I improved. I improved mentally and also by the game-wise. So I improved everywhere (smiling).

Q. What has surprised you about playing on the grass? You said you found your rhythm.

MIRRA ANDREEVA: I started to practice at Raynes Park. My coach, he was telling me that there would be a lot of bad bounce.

Honestly, when I was playing there, I didn't even have one bad bounce. It was like super perfect. Honestly, I was waiting for the bad bounces. It's not a lot. I mean, not as on clay court.

Yes, I don't know what to say.

Q. Last night you beat Chinese Wang in three sets, pretty close points. Today you made another step forward. As a 16-year-old girl, how much have you recovered physically? Do you feel fatigue or still pretty fresh today?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: We did a good recovery with my physical coach. It helped me a lot, for sure. We did massage, stretch. I finished pretty late. I finished at 9:30 maybe or at 9:00, maybe even earlier. I left the club at 10:30. We did a good recovery stuff, massage, the stretching, everything.

Today for sure I can say that I feel fresh. Of course, I feel a little bit tired, but it's okay. I feel tired almost every day so it's okay (smiling).

Q. If you do get to the last 16, that might mean Centre Court at some stage. That is a dream come true? Is it scary?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: No. I would say that before I would be definitely scared to play on the Centre Court. But now I want to play on the court with tribunes. If maybe the supervisors will see this press conference, I will tell straightaway I want to play on the court with tribunes. At least Court 3, I will be super happy.

Yeah, they put me on the Centre Court, it will be amazing because it's also kind of a dream to play there. I didn't play there yet, so... But we will see.

Q. Have you been inside Centre Court yet?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Yes, I've been there in my first day. I made a lot of pictures right away. I have like 15 pictures in my phone. Yeah, so I've been there. The atmosphere is great.

Q. The Netflix cameras, do they faze you at all?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: They are following me. They're actually somewhere here, I guess. I don't know. They're just follow me. They're super nice people. So far I didn't notice something bad in them. They're super nice.

If you don't want to film something today, they're super cool with it. For example, yesterday I was feeling super nervous. In the warm-up I felt a little bit uncomfortable, little bit stressed, so we told them that maybe it's not a good time for this. They were super cool with it. They just left. They gave me some space.

They're super nice people. Before I was feeling not so comfortable, but now I kind of like it.

Q. Looking ahead to your next round, you might play Anastasia Potapova. What did you learn from the match you lost to her in three sets? What have you improved since then?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Honestly, it was a good match, what I remember. We both were close. On the tiebreak in the second set I led 6-1. I won 7-4, I guess. I guess we both were pretty tight. Was a good match.

Honestly, I don't really remember what happened exactly in the third set. I think she just maybe had more experience. I led 3-1. Maybe I just couldn't finish it. In this way, she had a lot of experience also. If she wins, we will play against each other, so...

I will look forward to this match. I like the way she plays. For sure it will be great match.