Last year, Andreeva made waves in the Spanish capital in her WTA 1000 debut at age 15. A wildcard ranked just inside the Top 200 at the time, Andreeva reached the fourth round with wins over Leylah Fernandez, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Magda Linette without losing a set, and the run set her on course to being named the WTA’s most impressive newcomer in 2023..
Murray’s comment in January came after Andreeva saved match points and overcame a 5-1 third-set deficit to defeat France’s Diane Parry in Melbourne. While she didn’t lose a set in her victories in Madrid a year ago, twice so far in her follow up visit, Andreeva has authored similar escapes. In addition to coming from a set down to beat Noskova, she also lost the first set against American Taylor Townsend in her opening match, and trailed 4-1 in the final set of that 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 win.
“I just tried to keep playing my game, keep playing aggressive because it was a bit tough after the first set. I had a lot of game points; I was up with a break, serving, and then I lost the set, so that was a bit hard,” Andreeva said of the match against her fellow teen, the No. 29 seed.
“I’m trying to play using my brain. I’m not trying to hit every ball as hard as I can. Maybe that helps me sometimes to think through hard moments. It is really hard on the court; I’m glad it seems like it’s easy for me, but it’s not! I’m just trying to always think in a positive way and that’s it.”