- Mirra Andreeva scored a memorable comeback victory over Diane Parry
- The 16-year-old Russian fought back from a 5-1 deficit in the decisive third set
- When she was 5-1 down, an Australian Open commentator questioned her mentality
Andy Murray has hit out at a commentator who criticized Mirra Andreeva’s mentality during her stunning comeback win over Diane Parry in the third round of the Australian Open.
Teenager Andreeva, 16, put on a sensational fight on Friday to come back from 5-1 down in the deciding set to win 7-6, including saving a match point.
After staying in the match, she shifted gears 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.
However, she was criticized by a commentator at 5-1 down for her ‘mental side of the game’ before Andreeva’s idol Murray came to her defense on social media after she secured the momentous win.
“Andreeva is 5-1 down in third place,” the British legend posted on X. “Commentator “She really needs to work on the mental side of her game. She is too hard on herself when she loses.” 30 minutes later Andreeva wins 7-6.
Andy Murray slammed a commentator who criticized Mirra Andreeva’s mentality during her third-round win over Diane Parry at the Australian Open
16-year-old Andreeva made a comeback, but after trailing 5-1 in the third set, a commentator said: “She really needs to work on the mental side of her game”
Murray jumped to the teenager’s defense on social media, labeling the Russian star a ‘winner’
“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.’
Although the identity of the person Murray was referring to is unknown, several experts and commentators rushed to distance themselves from the claims.
ESPN analyst Rennae Studds, a former Australian player, responded to Murray’s tweet, saying: “Wasn’t me mate.”
Meanwhile, BBC Sport, Eurosport and Amazon Prime broadcaster Catherine Whitaker responded directly to a question about whether she had made the claims when she replied: ‘No’.
Murray’s defense of Andreeva came after the pair have built a strong bond in recent times, with the 16-year-old revealing 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 last summer. ‘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 also 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.’
When questioned about Murray’s tweet after her win, Andreeva could barely hide her joy at the attention.
Several experts rushed to distance themselves from the unknown commentator’s claims
The teenager has previously revealed that three-time Grand Slam champion Murray is her ‘idol’
She said: ‘I didn’t really think he would be watching a game, and after he tweeted, he would say something.
“Honestly, I’ll try to print it out somehow. I don’t know, I’ll put it in a list.
‘I take it everywhere. Maybe I’ll hang it on the wall so I can see it every day.’
Andreeva will face Storm Hunter or Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round.