Teen Mirra Andreeva turning heads in Paris

Six months ago, Mirra Andreeva played the final of the Australian Open juniors, and lost. Nonetheless, she “probably thought” she would be in the mix among the top juniors at Roland Garros as well.

True, except that the 16-year-old Russian is competing among the top pros at Roland Garros. And, so far, winning.

Andreeva, the baby-faced teen with a refreshing game and smile, booked a women’s singles third-round spot at the French Open on Thursday beating France’s Diane Parry 6-1, 6-2.

The youngest player in the clay-court Slam’s third round since 2005, she is only the seventh women’s singles player in the last two decades to enter the third round in Paris before turning 17. She is the first in 14 years in a list that has Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova and Serena Williams.

Taking on a home player on Court Simonne-Mathieu, Roland Garros’s third most prestigious court, Andreeva displayed the mind of a seasoned pro in her clinical outing against an error-prone Parry (38 unforced errors to Andreeva’s 15).

Clinical the teen has been all through her week-and-a-half in Paris, coming through the qualifiers — she beat top seed Camila Osorio in the final round — without dropping a set and losing only three games in her main draw debut against the experienced Alison Riske-Amritraj.

Clinical the teen has been all through switching from the junior to professional circuit after the Australian Open, losing just two out of 24 matches. Andreeva began by winning back-to-back ITF W60 titles — the first as a qualifier — in April when she was still 15, becoming the only player in the history of the ITF Tour to win multiple titles at W60 level or above before turning 16.

For her 16th birthday, Andreeva would gift herself a victory over then world No. 19 Magda Linette of Poland in the third round of the WTA 1000 Madrid Open. For her pre-birthday bash in the previous rounds, Andreeva would go past 14th-ranked Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia and 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez. It would take the power of world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka to halt the charge of the youngest player ever to reach the Round of 16 of a WTA 1000 event.

Starting the year ranked just below 300, Andreeva is now up to 143, with her Paris exploits bound to push her higher. It’s a steep rise for a youngster who played the French Open juniors last year, yet hardly surreal.

“I’m not really surprised with my level, because I know the way I can play on the court,” Andreeva said.

Andreeva likens her style of play to that of Ons Jabeur, the Tunisian whose game stands out on the women’s tour. It explains Andreeva’s penchant for drop shots to complement her solid backhands (on Thursday, she won 32 of her 62 points in rallies of under five shots). Along with her 18-year-old sister Erika — she lost in the main draw first round after qualifying — she developed her game at her training base in Cannes after they moved to France from Krasnoyarsk.

Andreeva hopes to have a hit with Jabeur soon, having met her a couple of times while exchanging mere pleasantries. “Just for the moment,” Andreeva quickly added, “I hope that will change.”

Her personality as charming as her game, Andreeva’s interviews often belie her age. In a chat in Madrid speaking about her first-time experience of being at a WTA event, Andreeva gushed about seeing Andy Murray in the restaurant. “He is so beautiful in life. Sorry, he is so amazing,” she said.

In Paris, Andreeva revealed she had texted Murray after he won a Challenger last month and couldn’t hide her joy at receiving a reply with a “good luck in Roland Garros” sign off. “Maybe that’s why I’m playing that good now,” Andreeva chuckled.

She is still 16, after all. Even though her goals are already gigantic.

“My dream? I know that (Novak) Djokovic did 22 Grand Slams,” Andreeva said after her win on Thursday. “So, I want to go until 25, if it will be possible.”