ROLAND GARROS

June 3, 2024

Mirra Andreeva

Press Conference

M. ANDREEVA/V. Gracheva

7-5, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Into your first quarterfinals at a Grand Slam. How special is this win today?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Of course it feels great. It was a very special win for me. It was tough to play against her. She's French player, my good friend. I'm very happy that I managed to win this match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. There were some occasional boos from the crowd. Did it bother you at any point during the game?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, in the beginning a little bit, but then I just kind of adjusted it for my advantage. I know now how to use it for myself, not against.

I think that I did a good job with it, and it actually was helping me a little bit to fire me up from inside.

Q. How difficult is it to play against Varvara Gracheva and how far can she go?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, honestly, she played really great. She had amazing level this tournament. I think that her playing at home with the French crowd, it gave her a lot of confidence and a lot of power. She definitely felt really great and confident on court.

Yeah, I actually don't know how far she could go, because there was me and, yeah, I also try to go for more. That's hard to say.

Yeah, it was hard to play against her. I knew it. So I prepared myself for it.

Q. Congrats for today. If you look back at the whole journey to this first quarterfinal, what are you the most proud of?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: I think I'm proud for everything; for all the matches that I won, for all the matches that I have played. I would say that, for example, the most memorable match would be is the match against Vika when we finished really late. That was really hard for me the first time when I finished as late as we did.

After, it was really hard to recover. So, yeah, that was a great match, of course. Also today was very tense and nervous. Big court, big stage. There was a lot of crowd, a lot of people.

So, yeah, I'm just proud of the way I managed to stay calm and keep playing my game.

Q. Aryna Sabalenka for you next. You obviously had a couple of difficult matches against her already. What have you learned from those that will feed into your approach in two days' time? You're obviously a very tactical player. Will you change anything tactically next time you face her?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, I will not say my tactics right now (smiling). I don't know. She probably not watch it or her coaches will not watch my press conference, but just in case (smiling).

Well, of course we will add a few adjustments. We will change something, because the way I played last two times didn't work. So of course me, I don't have anything in my head, so I hope my coach will help me with it.

But, yeah, because me, I'm a player who goes on court and I'm just playing and I see how things are and then I can adjust a little bit during my match.

But here, I feel she's really experienced. She's a player of another level, so I have to be prepared from the beginning. I hope my coach will help me with that, and, well, we'll see how it goes.

Q. Is Conchita good at that? What do those conversations look like between you and Conchita when she presents a tactical plan?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, she makes a lot of notes. There are a lot of texts. I'm just reading it, and then after, we have a little talk. She also asks me what I think or what I would add or what I don't feel comfortable with. So it's very easy. Yeah, so, most of the time, she just do little notes.

Q. I want to talk about your composure that you showed today on the court. You are 17. You just turned 17. What is the secret ingredient of you staying cool in the court?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Well, I think I'm just, as I said earlier, I'm just playing kind of. Even when, for example, we talk about the match, about the plan, about tactics, I listen, but honestly, I don't remember anything after. I don't have anything in my head when we start playing the match. So I just go there and I'm, like, well, we'll see. I'll figure it out. That's how I always play, that's how I always do.

I think maybe this helps me a little bit that I'm not really worried about my plan or about the way I will play or about the way my opponent will play. I just go and I play and I see what happens. I can adjust something during the match.