Mirra Andreeva lost the first set but rallied to beat Marina Bassols Ribera 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 on Wednesday at Roland Garros, a match that lasted 1 hour and 51 minutes.
The 19-year-old, ranked World No. 175, dropped the opening set before winning the next two and closing strongly — she won 12 of the last 15 games — to reach the tournament's third round for the fourth time in as many appearances in Paris and to notch a third straight second-week showing at Roland Garros.
Andreeva's turnaround was stark in the numbers. She committed 18 unforced errors on her forehand in the opening set, then cut those mistakes to nine in the second set and three in the decider. The shift followed a period of self-criticism on court: "I was making a lot of mistakes, and she used it as an opportunity," Andreeva said after the match.
She credited a change in mindset — and a prompt from her team — for the recovery. "I was also complaining quite a lot in the first set, because I was obviously not very happy with my level," Andreeva said. "But I'm super happy that I realized in time that complaining doesn't bring me anywhere." She added that her coach Conchita Martinez "reminded me to use my notebook when things did not go very well" and called that reminder "kind of a reminder from my coach."
The immediate reward is a meeting with No. 27 seed Marie Bouzkova in the next round; Andreeva leads Bouzkova 4-0 in their WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz head-to-head. That record gives Andreeva a clear statistical edge heading into a fixture that will test whether her late-match focus can hold against a seeded opponent.
Andreeva also pointed to changing conditions as part of the early trouble. "I felt like the conditions were really different compared to the time when I was warming up," she said. "It's obviously very hot these days in Paris and I was warming up at 3 o'clock and I felt like the ball was flying and it was bouncing. When I stepped on the court here, I just felt like the ball wasn't flying very much. All of my mistakes were long, but that's how I felt."
The match carried a clear tension: the volume of forehand errors in the opening set against the efficient finish that followed. Andreeva acknowledged the contrast herself: "I don't know how many times I have to prove that to myself, but I'm happy that I was able to switch my mindset and be very focused throughout the last two sets."
For now, the scoreboard is simple. Andreeva advanced, her third-round place confirmed, and she has a headline figure she can point to — 12 of the last 15 games won — as she prepares for Bouzkova. The sharper question is whether Andreeva can take the same discipline into that match and extend her streak of second-week appearances at Roland Garros.
