Mirra Andreeva feels more at ease on the Tour following her triumph at the French Open but admits she still struggles with pre-match nerves.
Andreeva, who is currently ranked fifth in the world, captured her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in June and was a quarter-finalist at the US Open. However, she is yet to contest another Tour final since that triumph. She enters this week’s China Open with a win-loss record of 45-15, and at the time only three other players on the WTA Tour have recorded more wins than her this season.
Andreeva started her Beijing bid on Friday with a roller-coaster 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 win over qualifier Yuan Yue. She has now won 13 sets with a score of 6-0 since the start of January
“It was frustrating. Doesn’t have anything to do with her. It’s more with the way I was playing,” Andreeva said of her start to the match.
“I was not happy with the way things were going. I felt like there is a lot more stuff that I could do on the court that I was not able to do.
“I’m happy that I was able to navigate that anger into the match, not going down even more on myself.
“I’m just happy I was able to turn things around.”
The 19-year-old explained that she reset during a toilet break Yuan took after dropping the opener. Overall, she won 75% of her first service points and converted six out of 16 break point opportunities.
Bidding to win her first title in Asia, Andreeva admits her mental approach to matches has changed since winning her first major title.
“I don’t feel pressure in that kind of way. I feel like I know how to kind of navigate my thoughts and the pressure on the tournament that I have to play,” she explained.
“Now I’m just feeling nervous before the matches that I have to play, like usual. I’m always nervous before an opponent.
“The Grand Slam season is over. For now, I don’t think about that, so I don’t feel any pressure in that way.”
Andreeva is making her fourth main draw appearance at the China Open and is yet to go beyond the quarter-finals. The fourth seed, who is seeking her third WTA 1000 title, will play either Clara Tucson or Polina Kudermetova in the next round.
