Victoria Mboko will play against her good friend Mirra Andreeva at the Miami Open, continuing their intriguing rivalry.
Mboko and Andreeva will meet in the Miami Open round of 16, having already played against each other twice this year.
The Russian beat the Canadian in the Adelaide final, with Mboko then exacting revenge in the Qatar Open round of 16.
Mboko has now shared insight into their relationship ahead of their meeting in Miami, where the duo are intriguingly playing doubles together too.
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Victoria Mboko excited to play close friend Mirra Andreeva in Miami
Mboko told Tennis Channel of her WTA rival: “Yeah I’m excited. I’m sure we’re going to play each other so many times.
“We joke about it all the time when the draw comes out and we’re like, ‘Get away from me. Why are you in my quarter?’
“But it’s funny. We’re great friends. I’m always rooting for her and vice versa. We text all the time. I’m really happy to play her.
“Unfortunately, it has to be so early, not in the final. But yeah it’s okay. I’m looking forward to it. And we’re playing doubles, so…”
And when asked if it’s easier to play against a friend or someone she isn’t as close with, Mboko quickly replied: “Someone I’m not as close with.
“Yeah. There’s no there’s not as much sentimental value, I’d say.”
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Mirra Andreeva can easily put friendship aside vs Victoria Mboko
Andreeva also previewed the match on Tennis Channel, along with their doubles opener against Demi Schuurs and Ellen Perez.
“Well, first I’m going to focus on playing great tomorrow because we have a doubles match to play first and I’m just going to put all my focus on that,” she said.
“But you know for me for some reason it’s not that difficult to put the friendship aside when we’re on the tennis court playing against each other because I know she’s not going to just be there and let me win.
“She’s going to want to win. Of course, when we play singles against each other, she’s going to go out there and she’s going to want to beat me.
“So I just know that and I’m going to try not to waste my time by saying ‘Oh, maybe you’re feeling nice today. Maybe you’re going to give me a couple of points here and there’.
“I know that’s not going to happen. We’re going to talk with Conchita [Martinez] about our game plan. Obviously, we’ve had two great matches earlier this year.
“So yeah I’m actually very excited to play her again. Third time already. It’s just the beginning of the year, but yeah we’ll see.
“I think it’s going to be an entertaining match for people to watch. So, yeah, I’m just uh super excited to play her again.”
Andreeva clinched the Adelaide title with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Mboko in January, with the Canadian then triumphing 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7-5) in Qatar in February.
That represents their only meetings in their exciting careers so far, with their head-to-head split perfectly at 1-1 ahead of a Miami reunion.
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