Mirra Andreeva achieved her first victory against her older sister Erika on Wednesday at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. However, it wasn`t the victory she wanted, as Erika had to stop playing due to injury when Mirra was leading 6-2, 1-0.
Erika had previously won their only professional match in Wuhan last year and, according to them, had always won in practice sessions since childhood. In Stuttgart, Erika started strong by breaking Mirra`s serve in the first game. But Mirra then won the next two games, and Erika needed a medical timeout. Erika returned with her right knee heavily bandaged, but Mirra then controlled the match.
After the match, the 5th seed Mirra and Erika hugged. Mirra then spoke highly of her sister, acknowledging Erika`s important role in her quick success in reaching the top 10.
Mirra said in an interview on court that she probably wouldn`t have become a good player so quickly if Erika hadn`t started playing tennis first. She explained that watching Erika in tournaments showed her the path and made it easier for her to compete in bigger tournaments early in her career. Mirra believes she might not even be playing in the Stuttgart tournament this year if it wasn`t for Erika.
Mirra wasn`t surprised by Erika`s injury issues, as they share a room and she knew what Erika was going through. She had mixed feelings after winning.
Mirra admitted that she had “weird emotions”. She said she should be happy about winning but felt sad about how the match ended. She hopes Erika will recover and come back stronger.
Despite the bittersweet win, Mirra also showed her lighter side. She noticed her coach, Conchita Martínez, and said she wanted to embarrass her a bit because it was her birthday. Mirra then led the crowd in singing `Happy Birthday` to Conchita, using her full name, Concepción, and smiling.
Conchita Martínez smiled and waved to the crowd. It was a day of mixed emotions for the Andreeva family, but Mirra`s career is clearly on the rise. Her next match will be against Ekaterina Alexandrova, which will be their first time playing against each other, as Mirra aims for her fourth quarterfinal in 2025.
