- Mirra Andreeva saved a match point and fell behind 5-1 in the final set
- She served to win the match, but was broken and had to play out a tiebreak
- Andy Murray defended her after a commentator criticized her mental strength
Teenager Mirra Andreeva made a sensational comeback to keep her Australian Open dream alive by beating Diane Parry in the third round.
The 16-year-old trailed 5-1 in the deciding set after losing the first 6-1 and then winning the second by the same score, and had to save a match point on her serve to stay in the match.
She then kicked into gear and won six of the next seven matches, eventually taking the tiebreak 10-5 to secure one of the best wins of her short career over her French opponent.
It looked like victory was on the back foot as the Russian won five games in a row and she served for the match, but suffered a break and had to get herself back up for the tiebreak.
But she held her nerve to secure a place in the fourth round of the competition, having already defeated Ons Jabeur and Bernarda Pera down under so far.
Mirra Andreeva, 16, completed a comeback victory to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open
The teenager fell behind 5-1 in the final set and defeated the French Diane Parry in Melbourne
Andreeva had served to win the match but was broken and the match ended in a tiebreak
Andreeva is playing in her first Australian Open after taking the tennis world by storm last year, winning over fans with her performances and witty one-liners in the media at last year’s Wimbledon.
Towards the end of her run in the competition, she was fined for throwing her racket and refusing to shake the referee’s hand, after expressing her frustrations with her performance in the loss to Madison Keys.
After being criticized by a commentator for her ‘mental side of the game’ in her win over Parry on Friday, her idol Andy Murray came to her defense on social media.
‘Andreeva was 5-1 behind in third place. Commentator “She really needs to work on the mental side of her game. She’s too hard on herself when she loses,” Murray began.
’30 minutes later Andreeva wins 7-6. Maybe the reason she turned the game around is because of her mental strength. Maybe she turned the game around because she’s hard on herself and demands more from herself when she loses/plays poorly? Winner.’
Andy Murray, meanwhile, jumped to the teenager’s defense on social media after she was criticized by a commentator, who questioned the ‘mental side of her game’.
Murray and Andreeva have built a strong bond after it became known that the Brit is his idol
Andreeva revealed she received a good luck text from Murray ahead of last year’s French Open
Murray and Andreeva have formed a strong bond after the former revealed the three-time Grand Slam winner was her idol.
“I met Andy Murray here,” she said after her second-round victory over Barbora Krejcikova at Wimbledon. ‘But I’m too shy to talk to him.
‘When I see him, I try to leave the institution super quickly so as not to talk to him, because I’m super shy!’
Following Murray’s ATP Challenger title in Aix-en-Provence in May last year, Andreeva revealed she had texted the Scot to congratulate her.
“I said congratulations,” she said. “He actually answered me, so I was very happy with it. He said thank you and good luck at Roland Garros. Maybe that’s why I’m playing so well now.’
Andreeva will face Storm Hunter or Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round.