Living on a prayer and a 6:40 a.m. alarm: Andreeva digs out first-round win

What does it take to be the sixth best tennis player in the world at just 18 years old?

A strictly regimented morning routine, it turns out, especially when you're first on court at 11 a.m. After overturning a 3-0 double-break deficit in the first set to defeat Cristina Bucsa 6-4, 6-3 in the Roland Garros first round -- her first match as a Grand Slam Top 10 seed -- Mirra Andreeva regaled on-court interviewer Alex Corretja with the minute-by-minute details.

Roland Garros: Draws | Scores | 411

"Today I had to wake up at 6:40," Andreeva recalled. "Then I had 35 minutes to pack my bag and do everything. Then I had 25 minutes to have breakfast, then we had 30 minutes to come here. Then I spent 11 minutes in the locker room. Then we did the warm-up, and went on court. It's very well-planned. On the court, we warm up 30 to 40 minutes with a hitting partner, then we finish with some baskets with [coach] Conchita [Martínez]. It depends on her mood; if she is in a good mood then she doesn't move me as much, but if she's a bit pissed at me I do some running."

In a bid to keep on Martínez's good side, Andreeva has been aligning her music tastes with the 53-year-old's era -- something the 51-year-old Corretja was pleased to note. She's been a fan of '80s rocker Bon Jovi for a while now, ever since hearing "Livin' On A Prayer" -- a song that was released 21 years before she was born -- at Wimbledon two years ago.

"I was like, 'Wow, I love it, who is the singer?'" Andreeva said. "And no offense, but I'm working with Conchita. I have to manage my music taste. I'm trying to be on the same level as her, so we have more or less the same taste in music."

"Point by point, I found my rhythm"

No. 6 seed Andreeva reached her first major semifinal here last year, and this season has rocketed up the rankings thanks to her first two WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells. The 18-year-old comes into the tournament having posted back-to-back quarterfinal runs in Madrid and Rome, and her 2025 record now stands at 28-7. She will face either Abu Dhabi finalist Ashlyn Krueger or Osaka champion Suzan Lamens in the second round.

In a first-time encounter with Bucsa, the No. 98-ranked Spaniard was quicker out of the blocks. Last year's Madrid doubles champion, and a doubles bronze medallist at the Paris Olympic Games, Bucsa's prowess at net was on full display as she put away a series of firm volleys to break Andreeva twice.

But with Bucsa serving at 3-0, 30-0, Andreeva fired back with a signature return winner down the line -- sparking a surge in her own form, and a retreat from Bucsa. Several more down-the-line winners followed as the teenager rattled through 10 of the next 12 games to take a 4-1 second-set lead.

Andreeva's serve was also there when she needed it as the match went on. The second set was ultimately decided by a single break of serve, Andreeva finding a forehand winner to capture it for 3-1. But four of her five service games in this set went to at least one deuce, and she needed to fend off five break points in total. Unreturned serves accounted for most of those; Andreeva finished the match with a 73% winning percentage behind her first delivery and a total of 25 winners to Bucsa's 16.

"I can say that she played amazing, especially in the beginning," said an impressed Andreeva in her on-court interview. "I felt I was playing not bad, but ... it was 0-3. If I'm playing not bad, how is it 0-3? So then I told myself to keep playing the same, try to fight for every point and put a lot of balls in court and try to play aggressive. Step by step, point by point, I found my rhythm and then it was easier for me to push and play aggressive."

Click here to read article