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.”