Mirra Andreeva made a couple of birthday wishes come true this week at the Mutua Madrid Open, reaching her first WTA 1000 final of the season and receiving a pair of high heels to celebrate turning 19.
“I was really not expecting that gift,” exclaimed Andreeva, who spoke on-court about wanting a new pair of heels after her quarterfinal win, “but my agent Juan [Gerard], he was very thoughtful and he got me a pair of high heels.
“I already have a video in my phone of how I walk in them. I was extremely happy to receive that gift yesterday. I’ll try to go out somewhere maybe next week to wear them and feel pretty.”
Andreeva, who outlasted American Hailey Baptiste, 6-4, 7-6 (8), turned 19 on April 29th and previously cautioned any potential gift-givers against shopping for anything higher than a kitten heel after defeating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.
“I’m just afraid that if they’re any higher I’ll break my foot!” joked the teenager.
Seeded ninth at the Caja Magica, the former Roland Garros semifinalist continued an impressive start to her clay-court swing, following up a title run in Linz and a semifinal finish at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with another strong run in Madrid.
Up against Baptiste, who saved six match points to stun world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the last eight, Andreeva appeared on course for a straightforward victory until it came time to serve for the match at 5-4.
“I feel like in the first set, especially, I feel like there were at least a couple of games where I didn’t even serve a second serve, so I was trying not to think about it,” Andreeva said. “Because as it always happens, when you just think about how, ‘Oh, I haven’t missed my first serve in a while,’ the first thing you do is miss your serve.”