'I chose to be a fighter': Mirra Andreeva credits Roger Federer after historic French Open triumph

Mirra Andreeva dazzled under the early evening Paris sun, the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen nestled in her arms. The youngest French Open champion since Monica Seles 34 years ago, the 19-year-old looked every bit the new star of women's tennis. Yet, as she sat in the media room afterwards, blonde curls tumbling around her shoulders, it was clear that her greatest triumph was in conquering her own inner demons.Andreeva’s talent – that ability to make any shot from anywhere on the court -- has never been questioned, but it was obvious from the moment she made her Grand Slam main draw debut here as a 16-year-old that her emotions could overwhelm her. At Indian Wells earlier this year, and again in Madrid in April, Andreeva suffered public meltdowns. But the work to address those moments had already begun. Early last year, she signed on psychologist Alexis Castori. Before her semi-final against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, she got on a call with Castori in Florida. She did the same before the final against Maja Chwalinska.Castori told Andreeva that she could choose how she was going to be on court, putting the onus on the teenager while opening a window of possibility.“I chose to be a fighter,” Andreeva said. “I watched a lot of Roger (Federer’s) matches here, and I felt like I really want to try to impersonate the way he behaves on the court, because I love watching him. That helped me because I wanted to look good on the court, not be frustrated or be not happy with how I play. That’s what I’m focusing on.”Conchita Martinez, who has been Andreeva’s coach since 2024, knew early that a change was needed for the young star to realise her potential.“I knew things had to change for her to win big things,” the 54-year-old Spaniard said. “Sometimes I had doubts. If you don't change something, you make it extra difficult for yourself. Kudos to her for willing to change, staying open, doing the hard work. As long as she can continue to learn to get better, there’s still big room for improvement in every department. I'm super excited for the future.”The Roland-Garros victory has given the new champion the push she probably needs. She described the triumph as “addicting”.“These feelings are something extra special,” she said. “Now I'm already thinking of how I'm going to prepare for the grass season, how I'm going to play grass tournaments. I really want to do my best to experience all of this for a second time.”If Roland Garros was the place where Andreeva announced her talent to the world as a 16-year-old, it is now the place where she proved she can master it. At 19, with a Grand Slam trophy in her possession and her emotions increasingly under control, the challenge may no longer be whether she can win the sport's biggest titles, but how many.