Russia's Mirra Andreeva celebrates winning against France's Diane Parry during their women's singles match on day five of the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament at the Court Simonne-Mathieu in Paris on June 1, 2023 | Photo: AFP
Paris: Sixteen-year-old qualifier Mirra Andreeva reached the French Open last 32 on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Diane Parry to set up a potential clash against Coco Gauff.
She is just the seventh player under the age of 17 to make the third round in Paris since 1993, a group that includes the likes of Serena Williams and Martina Hingis.
Andreeva, ranked at 143 in the world and making her Grand Slam debut, swept through the first set as home player Parry committed 15 unforced errors to the Russian's five.
Andreeva broke for a 3-2 lead in the second set and again for 5-2 when Parry served up her fourth double fault of the match.
The Russian teenager, who was the youngest player to win a match at Roland Garros in 18 years when she came through the first round, secured victory after 77 minutes on a second match point.
"I'm happy that you didn't see that I was nervous," said Andreeva. "I was a little bit shaky because I was playing a French girl and the crowd was cheering for her."
Gauff, the runner-up to Iga Swiatek last year, can book a third round meeting with Andreeva if she defeats Julia Grabher later Thursday.
Gauff, 19, and Andreeva have practised together at Roland Garros.
"She's an experienced player. I am sure it will be a great match. She will do her best, I will do mine. We'll have to see who does it better," added Andreeva.
AFP
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