Andreeva v Gracheva: Things we learned

Playing a friend compounds the pressure

Both residents of Cannes on the French Riviera, Andreeva and world No.88 Gracheva are frequent sparring partners and knew exactly what to expect from each other in their first tour match.

Roared on by the French faithful on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Gracheva was not without her chances in the opening set and brought up a pair of set points on her opponent’s serve at 5-4.

Her younger rival showed exceptional composure to fend off both and the crowd fell silent as she reeled off 12 of 14 points to take it 7-5 in 53 minutes.

Her momentum only grew with a double break in hand in the second set and she completed the result on a 19-shot rally, which she secured on a forehand pass and sent her racquet skyward in celebration.

“It feels amazing. It’s always tough to play against a friend,” Andreeva said before stopping to clap her opponent as she left the court. “Against a person you know very well, I knew that it would be a tough battle – not only game-wise but mental-wise.

“I prepared myself for everything. It was a bit tough to play against a French crowd, but I’m really happy that I managed to go through.”

Support comes from unexpected sources

Heading into the clash, Andreeva accepted she would have the crowd against her – in stark contrast to her debut last year when she rode a wave of support through qualifying all the way to the third round against Coco Gauff.

Monday’s one-sided support was to be expected from a home crowd desperate to see one of their own extend their stay into the second week.

Andreeva, however, possessed the clarity of mind to channel the vocal support intended for her opponent in her favour.

“Of course, I knew it would be hard, but I know how to use the support against myself for myself,” she said. “When people cheer super hard against me I use it to cheer myself up. It really helps me. When they were cheering ‘Varvara, Varvara’ I was trying to imagine they were screaming my name and it helped.”

Note-taking key to preparation

The win set a rematch against her maiden WTA 1000 quarter-final vanquisher, second seed Aryna Sabalenka, a player she also fell to in the Spanish capital last year.

It presents a marked step up in opponent, squaring off against a heavier ball-striker and dual Grand Slam champion on this stage.

Andreeva paid tribute to new coach Conchita Martinez for her work in helping stay calm in tough moments and says the Spaniard is an expert in tactics.

“Well, she makes a lot of notes. There are a lot of texts,” Andreeva said. “I'm just reading it, and then after, we have a little talk. She also asks me what I think or what I would add or what I don't feel comfortable with. So, it's very easy. Yeah, most of the time, she just [takes] little notes.”

Humility remains strong

During this year’s Australian Open, Andreeva was told an aspiring junior was drawing inspiration from her transition to the professional ranks to which she modestly responded: “I’m not a star or something like this. I don’t think it’s right to give some advices from me.”

The now 17-year-old will find it harder to refute that her star is rapidly on the rise even if she does still feel that way.

“Yeah a bit. If somebody would approach me from juniors and ask for advice I would not be able to give advice because I don't have any experience,” she told rolandgarros.com. “I have a bit but not a lot. By the age I'm still kind of a junior, even though I don't feel like a junior anymore. I still feel like sometimes people think of me that 'well she's a teenager, she's a junior, so she could play like junior Slam next week'.”

No more junior Slams will be necessary, Mirra.