Mirra Andreeva gives Iga Swiatek a brutal warning ahead of quarterfinals against Cincinnati

Mirra Andreeva acknowledges that Iga Światek is the best in the game at the moment, but adds that she is absolutely not afraid of the world number one ahead of the match against Cincinnati. The rising Russian star says that the Pole is “also a human being” and that there is nothing “exceptional” about that.

Andreeva, 17, made a striking debut at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati this week, with three notable victories to reach the quarterfinals. The Russian defeated world No. 13 Emma Navarro, former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova and also recent Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini 3-6 6-3 6-2.

By beating fifth-seeded Paolini, world 24th-seeded Andreeva prevented the Italian and Swiatek from having a rematch of this year’s French Open final in Cincinnati. Instead, the 17-year-old will battle for a place in the Cincinnati semi-finals.

When Andreeva and the 23-year-old Pole meet, it will be the first time the two have clashed. And it’s safe to say the 24TT-ranked Russian is confident she can go there and stun five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek.

“Yes. I feel like I’m ready. Of course… she’s number 1 in the world. But she’s also a human being. So I don’t think there’s anything special. Of course, she’s playing great. She feels very confident. She’s very confident on the court. I feel like I have that too. I’m pretty confident too. I’m just going to go out there and do my best. If it doesn’t go my way this time, it will go my way next time. I’m going to do my very best to make sure that this time, tomorrow, it goes my way. I think we’re going to play center court. And I liked center court last time. So it’s good,” Andreeva said on Tennis Channel about the Swiatek match.

Mirra Andreeva to face Iga Swiatek next in Cincinnati

“Are you ready to play against the number 1 player in the world?”

Mirra: “Yes. I feel like I’m ready. Of course… she’s #1 in the world. But she’s also a human being. So I don’t think there’s anything exceptional. Of course she’s… photo.twitter.com/c3tBZfjfTd

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 16, 2024

Andreeva is in great shape for the Swiatek meeting, although she didn’t have much time to prepare

After her participation in the Olympic Games in Paris, Andreeva skipped the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto. But she still didn’t have much time to train hard and prepare for Cincinnati. Still, things have been going great for the 17-year-old Russian at the American tournament so far.

“It’s a bit tricky to go from clay to hard courts, especially when you’ve had a great tournament before. To be honest, I didn’t even really have time to celebrate the medals. We went straight home and I started training again, so it was all a bit rushed. When I arrived here a few days before the tournament, I played so badly! I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is not going to be good!’ But thank God we arrived four or five days earlier, so I had time to get used to it a bit, to play more on the courts. Day by day it got better. So I didn’t play badly today!” Andreeva explained to Tennis magazine after her opening win against Navarro.

Andreeva wants more success in Cincinnati after winning an Olympic medal

Before starting her summer on the hard courts of Cincinnati, Andreeva made her Olympic debut in Paris. And there Andreeva played in all three competitions – singles, women’s and mixed doubles. While her performances in the singles and mixed doubles were unimpressive, as she lost her openers there, it was a different story in the women’s doubles – where she reached the final with Diana Shnaider, but fell just short against Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.

Winning a silver medal with Shnaider was certainly a very memorable experience. But Andreeva also had something memorable in the mixed doubles competition, although she was eliminated in the first round – she got to team up with Daniil Medvedev.

“It was a great experience for me. I didn’t have high expectations, but I felt like we could play well. He tried to calm me down before the match, saying, ‘If we lose, we lose together. If we win, we win together. Don’t worry, I will always support you.’ I told him, ‘Well, you have no choice!'” Andreeva told Tennis magazine, recalling sharing the same side of the net with Medvedev.

It remains to be seen whether Andreeva can beat Swiatek and reach the semi-finals in Cincinnati.