Quote of the Day: Mirra Andreeva imagines the crowd chanting her name, then makes it happen

Some tennis players are just built different.

There are those that might wilt under the harsh spotlights of a big stadium, the jeers of a partisan crowd or the pressures of a Grand Slam—and then there are those who will take it all and use it as fuel for victory.

It’s safe to say Mirra Andreeva falls into the latter category, after her 7-5, 6-1 win over Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva at Roland Garros sent the 17-year-old into her career first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

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“It’s always tough to play a friend and a person you know very well,” Andreeva told Marion Bartoli afterward in their on-court interview. “I knew it was going to be a tough battle, not only game-wise but also mental-wise, and I prepared myself for everything.

“It was a bit tough to play against the French crowd, but I’m really happy that I managed to go through. Thank you for your support—not from everyone, but from some of you!”

Andreeva and Gracheva are good friends and frequent practice partners going back to their junior days. Gracheva was born in Russia but has represented France in competition since 2023 after obtaining nationality, meaning that the Court Suzanne Lenglen crowd was fully behind their player during the pair’s fourth-round encounter. But the more they cheered for Varvara, the more that Mirra seemed to surge ahead—riding the wave of support all the way to victory.

So how did she do it? It turns out that, in the great tradition of tennis champions before her, Andreeva tapped into a bit of reverse psychology every time the Parisians called out.

Q. She was the last French player left, so it’s normal that the crowd was pushing. But I feel like you also really liked the atmosphere and you really liked the match. How was your overall feeling?

MIRRA ANDREEVA: Of course, I knew it would be hard, but I know how to use the support against myself for myself.

When people cheer super hard against me I use it to cheer myself up. It really helps me.

So when they were screaming ‘Varvara, Varvara’ I was trying to imagine they were screaming my name, and it helped! (smiling)

The crowd seemed to enjoy the Russian’s cheeky response too, and they finally showed her some love as the stadium erupted into applause and “Mirra, Mirra” chants.

A sign of Andreeva’s strong self-belief, her comments also had some fans on social media thinking it could be an omen for Grand Slam titles in her future. Users were quick to point out the parallels between her words and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic’s own approach during Wimbledon in 2019.

With the normally reserved crowd on Centre Court effusively supporting his opponent Roger Federer for most of their five-set final battle, Djokovic famously “transmuted” the fan support in his favor using the same mental trick.

“When the crowd is chanting 'Roger' I hear 'Novak,'” Djokovic revealed after his victory in the final. “It sounds silly, but it is like that. I try to convince myself that it's like that."

Andreeva, who faces world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka next, will look to keep tuning her selective hearing amid her breakthrough quarterfinal run. Sabalenka owns a 2-0 head-to-head record over Andreeva, with both victories coming on clay courts.

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