Mirra Andreeva wasn’t expecting to feel so much love from the crowd in Indian Wells (Image: Getty)
Mirra Andreeva has confessed that she “doesn’t know why people support [her]” despite being one of the tour’s brightest young prospects. The 17-year-old recently lifted her biggest career title in Dubai and cracked the top 10, but she’s still surprised by her new status as a fan favourite.
The Russian has received plenty of love from the crowd in Indian Wells this fortnight, and she’s now through to the quarter-final. Andreeva stunned former champion 6-1 6-2 on Tuesday evening, and she’s now on a nine-match winning streak.
In her young career, Andreeva has already enjoyed plenty of success in Europe and the Middle East. She broke through at the Madrid Open two years ago and has gone on deep runs at the French Open and .
Last month, she became the youngest WTA 1000 champion in history when she won the Dubai Tennis Championships But the world No. 11 hasn’t been as successful in America – before this month, she had never won a match in Indian Wells.
She’s also never played in the Miami Open, and her best performance at one of the big tournaments was a quarter-final showing in Cincinnati last year.
However, that hasn’t stopped the spectators in Indian Wells from packing out her matches and throwing their weight behind her.
Mirra Andreeva recently won her biggest career title in Dubai (Image: Getty)
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Andreeva received plenty of encouragement when she beat former champion Rybakina in the round of 16 on Tuesday, and she later shared her surprise.
“I don’t know why people are supporting me this much, because honestly, when I was playing in [the] US, my results were not great,” the 17-year-old said after reaching the quarter-final.
“You know, last year here I lost in the first round. At the US Open, twice I lost in the second round. So I don’t know why people are supporting a lot for me, but no, it feels great.”
Although Andreeva didn’t expect the support, she’s clearly grateful to the fans. The ninth seed in Indian Wells continued: “They stayed until the end of our match, and they were still supporting tonight, as well.
“It’s pretty late and it’s pretty cold outside, so, for me, it feels amazing because I know that sometimes when you play a late match, people, you know, they don’t really want to stay and watch the match when it’s cold and late outside.
“I don’t know why, but I have a lot of people that are supporting me, and I don’t know, something about United States is people are so energetic, and when I play a match and some people are supporting me.
“I just kind of feel their energy. It kind of lights me up a little bit, and after, it’s actually a bit easier to play, as well.”
The Russian will be hoping that the fans return to cheer her on against Elina Svitolina in the quarter-final. The pair have never faced off but Andreeva is expecting a battle.
“I know that she’s a fighter, she runs for every ball. Now she’s also playing a little bit more aggressive,” she said.