Mirra Andreeva blocking out hype as she targets Sunshine Double

MIAMI – Teenage starlet Mirra Andreeva is currently the talk of the town, but she said that she is staying off social media and ignoring the hype after her triumph at Indian Wells last weekend.

The 17-year-old Russian defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win the WTA 1000 title in California to confirm her status as the rising star in the sport.

But in the near non-stop world of the WTA Tour, Andreeva has had little time to savour her second WTA 1000-level success following her Dubai win, flying to Miami on March 17 for this week’s tournament.

“I’ve had a great tournament and I’m still excited about the win. It was a great, great match in the final and I’m super happy about the win. And now, unfortunately, I have to focus on Miami and I’m going to try my best to win as many matches here,” she said.

The youngster was quick though to assure local media that despite the quick turnaround, she was looking forward to taking on another strong field in Florida.

“Of course, I’m super excited and super pumped to be playing this tournament for the first time,” she added.

The back-to-back events across the United States, however, mean that Andreeva has not had time to scroll too many messages or take in the excitement her win generated among tennis fans.

“I would say that I just kind of stay off the social media. So, I don’t really see anything or see what people are talking about,” she said.

“I don’t know if they talk a lot or no. But sometimes I see that I receive a lot of messages or comments, you know, I just have a great team around me and they help to kind of turn it off and just spend some quality time with them.

“And if I have any pressure or doubts in myself, I just talk. And if they help me, most of the time they do.”

But while Andreeva’s calmness on and off the court is one of her most impressive qualities, she concedes that her rapid rise to No. 6 in the world still has her heart pumping.

“I feel more... adrenaline still and I still kind of can’t believe it that it happened so fast,” she said.

“It was of course one of my dreams and now that it already happened of course I feel like... what am I supposed to do now? I know of course they’re the same goals – to win more tournaments and to be one of the top players but now I also realise that I’m No. 6 in the rankings and you know it’s actually not too bad.

“Of course I’m super proud of myself for that, but I try to not to focus on this and just try to focus on the matches that I have to play and on the tournaments that I have to go to.” AFP