Former German player Andrea Petkovic explained one aspect of Russia’s young tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva’s play that impressed her the most. The 17-year-old is regarded as one for the future and has already produced some incredible performances on the court.
Andreeva recently had an incredible run in different WTA events where she secured 13 consecutive wins. During that time, she managed to lift back-to-back titles in Dubai and then later in California. Both were WTA 1000 titles. Former German player Petkovic has been recently quoted in a report where she highlighted what has impressed her the most about the youngster. The 37-year-old stated that she was impressed with Andreeva’s ability to stay grounded after winning a big event in Dubai, something even Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz did early in his career.
“I talked to Conchita Martinez in Miami and asked her what they were doing,” said Petkovic in The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast as quoted by The Tennis Gazette. “She said it has been quite tough. She had four days at home after Dubai and then they travelled to California to get acclimatised with the time difference, it’s really an incredible effort. “For these young players it’s not the physical strength that takes them down, it’s the emotional strength. She could sleep eight hours and feel like a rabbit the next morning. But it’s the emotional strain of having these two huge wins in her career. Backing up a WTA 1000 win is insane. It’s not insane because she’s obviously a generational talent.
She continued by saying: “It’s not insane for her because I think she just underlined and emphasised that she is a generational talent but for a normal, who used to be good, this is an insane achievement as she is so young. Even Carlos Alcaraz, when he had his first big win at the US Open, he struggled for a few months after that and he’s Carlos Alcaraz. So that really is an astonishing accomplishment from her.”