British tennis ace Andy Murray came out in support of Russian tennis prodigy Mirra Andreeva after she was criticized by the commentators over her mental strength during her third-round match at the 2024 Australian Open. As Andreeva went on to win the match despite trailing against Diane Parry, Murray highlighted that the 16-year-old is the exact opposite of what is perceived.
Mirra Andreeva was trailing 1-5 in the deciding set against Parry. The commentators then criticized Andreeva for being too hard on herself when she was losing. Soon, Andreeva turned the game on its head when she won five games on the trot to take the lead. Diane Parry won the next game to level the score.
However, Andreeva did not give up yet as the youngster won the 13th game to force the set into a tiebreaker. Andreeva then comfortably took the game home as she beat Parry 10-5 in the tiebreaker. With this win, she sailed into the fourth round. After the win, Andy Murray analyzed how being hard on herself helped the youngster win from a position where she looked done and dusted.
Andreeva down 5-1 in third. Commentator “she really needs to work on mental side of her game.. she’s too hard on herself when she’s losing” 30 minutes later 7-6 Andreeva wins. Maybe the reason she turned the match round is because of her mental strength. Maybe she turned the match around because she is hard on herself and demands more of herself when she’s losing/playing badly? Winner. Andy Murray posted on X praising the youngster.
Mirra Andreeva stages one of the best comebacks
Coming to the match, it was one of the most memorable matches, at least for Mirra Andreeva who staged a brilliant comeback. The 16-year-old Russian was completely blown away in the first set as Diane Parry took it 6-1. In the second set, Andreeva came storming back and won it 6-1. However, in the deciding set, the Russian faltered.
Parry was up and running as she comfortably won the first two games. Andreeva showed some fight in the third game but it was Parry who eventually prevailed. Andreeva took the fourth game to stay alive in the contest but the Frenchwoman was quick to win two more games on the trot to push her Russian counterpart to the edge.
While Parry looked set to claim the third set as well as the match, Andreeva got her act together and won five games on the trot to go 6-5 up. Although Parry won the 12th game to level the scores, Andreeva sealed the next one to force a tiebreaker and then easily toppled her opponent.
With this win, Mirra Andreeva scripted history. She became the fourth player in the last 30 years to reach the fourth round at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open before turning 17 after Martina Hingis, Tatiana Golovin, and Coco Gauff.
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