Mirra Andreeva got off to a winning start at the 2023 Roland Garros, beating Alison Riske-Amritraj in the first round.
The 16-year-old super talent never played in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament before, but thanks to her performances in the qualifying, she was able to book the main draw spot at the 2023 Roland Garros.
The Russian didn't lose a set in the qualifying and it was her first-ever participation in the main draw of a major. Previously this year, she played in the main draw of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time in her career, reaching the fourth round.
At the Roland Garros, Andreeva was drawn against a very experienced opponent, Alison Riske-Amritraj. Obviously, the two never met before but the American was in terrible form losing 11 of her last 12 matches and winning only once in 2023.
Also thanks to her opponent's bad form, Andreeva was able to play her game since the start of the match. She won the first 10 points of the first set, building a sufficient 3-0 lead.
Yet, the teenager had to face three break points in the seventh game of the first set, threatening her one-break lead. But the Russian started yet another streak, this time winning 15 consecutive rallies to lead 6-2, and 2-0 in the second set.
But she couldn't avoid being broken. Riske-Amritraj got one break in the second set, but that was the last game that the 32-year-old managed to win. Andreeva won the following four games, winning the match 6-2, 6-1 to book a second-round spot at the 2023 Roland Garros.
Up next, she will be facing either a French wild card Diane Parry, or the 25th-seeded Anhelina Kalinina from Ukraine. The winning start will certainly give Andreeva enough confidence to take of either of the opponents as she showed she's able of beating seeded players before.
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