Coco Gauff offered some valuable advice to Mirra Andreeva ahead of her first Grand Slam quarter-final.
The teenager continues to rise up the ranks and has now produced her best showing at a major.
The Russian is being touted as one of the WTA’s best players in the future and at just 17 years old, Andreeva is making her presence felt on the big stage again, just five months after reaching the last 16 at the Australian Open.
With all eyes on her progress and pressure mounting week by week, Gauff, 20, knows a thing or two about dealing with scrutiny as a young tennis player.
What advice did Coco Gauff offer Mirra Andreeva?
Gauff announced herself to the world when she defeated seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon in 2019 at just 15 years of age.
She claimed her first title later that year at the Linz Open, and won her first Grand Slam after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final.
Now ranked number three in the world and in pursuit of a maiden French Open crown, Gauff told the teenager what she must do to stay on the path to success.
“I think the only advice would be to stay in the moment and believe you make it, but don’t think about the end,” she told reporters. “Sometimes you think of the word final and think you are so close, and you are, but it’s a long journey from that point!
“I think if I was in her team I would take care of the mental side of it first before tennis and all that, because it’s a long career she will have, and I think she is going to have a successful one.”
What is Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva’s head to head record?
Gauff and Andreeva have played just twice before, with both contests taking place in 2023.
They played one another in the third round at Roland Garros, in which Andreeva took the first set on a tiebreak. Gauff lost just two more games as she took sets two and three to claim the win.
Gauff faced Andreeva en route to her first Grand Slam title at the US Open, which the World number three won 6-3, 6-2.
The pair can only play one another in the final of the 2024 French Open, and they both have significant obstacles to overcome to reach Saturday’s championship match.
Gauff must defeat Iga Swiatek to progress to the final while Andreeva must overcome Aryna Sabalenka and either Jasmine Paolini or Elena Rybakina.
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