Russian sensation Mirra in love with Wimbledon

New Delhi: Teen sensation Mirra Andreeva from Russia has been in the news at The Championships for many reasons. The first is her precocious talent, and the second, her nationality. The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has left sportspersons traumatised.

For Mirra, to enter the third round late on Thursday in London was big. After all, not too many teens have come and shown they have the pedigree to win on grass After defeating Barbara Krecjikova in the singles second round, Mirra was pleased as punch. She is aware the hype is over Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek. So, for her to make headlines is unique. In her own words, she is "Super happy with the win." A big fan of Andy Murray, Mirra may get to talk to her idol soon! The two have already met, for the record.

Q. Is this your first experience of playing on grass? Have you managed to meet Andy Murray yet?

Yes, it is my first experience on grass. It's just my fifth match. I like the grass so far. I met Andy Murray here. But I'm too shy to talk to him. When I see him, I try to leave the facility super quick just to not to talk to him because I'm super shy.

Q. How have you adapted your game to grass? What have you changed in your game?

Honestly, not so much. It was kind of difficult for me the first days to find a rhythm. I honestly didn't change a lot. I just found a new rhythm for this surface. That's it.

Q. You mentioned this is your first experience on grass. What role has Wimbledon played so far in your life? What memories do you have?

It's definitely different compared to the other (Grand) Slams I've played. Compared to French Open, it's like wow, super beautiful here. It's super traditional. French Open is, like, I don't know, kind of simple, and here everything is like the white clothes, the grass, the strawberries, of course.

Q. You surprised everyone at the French Open where you said you wanted to beat the Grand Slam record of 23 by Novak Djokovic. Have you set a goal for this tournament, for this Wimbledon?

Of course, I always want to win, doesn't matter which tournament, which round. I always go to win. I will just do my best. If I can advance to the round of 16, I will be super happy. If I can advance to the semi-final, I will be of course super happy.

Q. What has surprised you about playing on the grass? You said you found your rhythm.

I started to practice at Raynes Park. My coach, he was telling me that there would be a lot of bad bounce. Honestly, when I was playing there, I didn't even have one bad bounce. It was like super perfect. Honestly, I was waiting for the bad bounces. It's not a lot. I mean, not as on clay court.

Q. You first beat Chinese Wang in three sets, pretty close points. Then you made another step forward. As a 16-year-old girl, how much have you recovered physically?

We did a good recovery with my physical coach. It helped me a lot, for sure. We did massage, stretch. I finished pretty late. We did a good recovery stuff, massage, the stretching, everything.

Q. If you do get to the last 16, that might mean Centre Court at some stage. That is a dream come true? Is it scary?

No. I would say that before I would be definitely scared to play on the Centre Court. But now I want to play on the court with tribunes. If maybe the supervisors will see this press conference,