MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 1, 2024

Mirra Andreeva

Press Conference

A. SABALENKA/M. Andreeva

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: A great run in Madrid. Could you reflect on the match and also your two weeks here in the Spanish capital.

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, it was definitely a good tournament for me. There is a lot of positives to take, but right now I'm not sure I can say some positive things (smiling). Maybe tomorrow.

Yeah, right now I can say only some bad stuff (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Congrats on a great two weeks. On the match today, obviously 12 months ago versus today, did you feel that today was better? Did you feel more comfortable in the matchup?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, at least I won one more game than last year. That's maybe a good thing. But still I felt like it was tough.

She's really putting a lot of pressure on the baseline, and yeah, it was a bit tough for me to find the rhythm at the beginning, but I felt like I found the way a little bit in the second set, but it was still not enough.

I feel like if we would play three sets, like men's and a slam, then maybe I would be able to win, but we play only two. So that's it. The result is there.

Q. Tough luck today. What have you learned about yourself over these two weeks, obviously coming here and exceeding what you did last year?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, I definitely feel more comfortable and confident on the court. It is important for me to have these good matches and good wins after a little stop.

Yeah, I feel like I became more strong mentally and physically on the court. Of course there is a lot of things to improve on. I'm sure we will improve in a few days. I mean, we will start to improve in a few days.

But yeah, just feel like I'm stronger mentally and I just need some time to know how to adjust it on court.

Q. You talked about the pressure that Aryna can put on you. Do you feel it most when you're serving, having to deal with her return? Is it more just the baseline power? Where do you feel it the most?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, of course she starts putting pressure with her serve. She's a big server, and it was tough for me to return.

But in the end, I found it a little bit, the position and everything, but it was still not enough. But yeah, she just starts to put pressure on the baseline as soon as she has a bit shorter ball, so she just goes for it.

Yeah, just was not able to keep the length and the depth, so yeah, she used it good.

Q. Now that you're 17, you're allowed to play a few more tournaments than you were before. Are you going to do that, or do you want to maintain some normal life alongside your tennis?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: I don't know. We'll see. But definitely I will try to play all the big tournaments. Then maybe I can try to add a few more -- well, I don't even know the calendar, to be honest. We will need to look into that, and yeah, we will decide.