World No. 7 Mirra Andreeva shared her thoughts following her fourth-round victory at Roland Garros, where she defeated fellow Russian Daria Kasatkina with a score of 6/3, 7/5.
“I knew there would be many long rallies,” Andreeva stated. “She knows where I`m going to hit and when I`ll play a drop shot. I had to do a lot of running from corner to corner, which I didn`t particularly enjoy, but I`m happy that I managed to maintain my game despite that.”
When asked if retrieving difficult balls provides special satisfaction, she commented, “It gives me confidence when I can chase down such a ball, restart the rally, and find the energy for a new, more powerful shot. Thanks to my fitness coach, I can endure this.”
Regarding saving a set point, Andreeva explained, “Dasha started playing much better; I was passive, especially compared to the first set. She took advantage of that and increased her aggression. On the set point, I went to the net – I don`t know what was going through my mind; I would usually never approach the net on a set point, but the adrenaline kicked in, and it worked out. I managed to recover and close out the match in two sets.”
Marcus Prine