Russia’s Mirra Andreeva entered the 2024 French Open as the youngest in either draw and now she’s eyeing for her first major QF. What a journey this has been for the 17-year-old in Paris. She defeated the former world number one, Victoria Azarenka in her second match and then ended Peyton Stearns’ seven-match winning streak by defeating her in the third round. Reaching the second week at the Grand Slam events has now become a habit of Andreeva. She’ll now face one of her closest friends on the Tour, Varvara Gracheva in the fourth round. However, they have been practicing together for almost two years.

Facing friends on the opposite side of the courts can be fun, but at the same time, it comes up with a different challenge. They know each other strengths and weaknesses pretty well. During the post-match interview in Paris, Mirra Andreeva was asked to reflect a bit on her relationship with her next opponent. Speaking on Varvara Gracheva, the 17-year-old said, “Well, yeah I know her pretty well. We have been practicing together for almost two years. So I know what to expect. She’s at a great level right now, she plays great! So I’m sure it’s going to be a good match.” Their friendship was reflected when Andreeva was spotted in the box of Gracheva at the Wimbledon last year.

Mirra Andreeva and Varvara Gracheva haven’t yet played against each other on the Tour. Both the friends couldn’t have asked for a better stage to mark their first match in their rivalry. Gracheva is more experienced of the two and she has a very strong return game, so this is something that Andreeva must be very careful of before stepping onto the court. The 23-year-old French tennis star is playing some of the best tennis of her career on Parisian clay, so this is going to be a real challenge for Mirra Andreeva.

Andreeva currently has a win-loss record of 12-7, while it’s just 7-13 for Gracheva. Mirra Andreeva is currently ranked 38th in the world whereas Varvara Gracheva is ranked 88. Although looking at these numbers, the 17-year-old looks the favorite over the 23-year-old. But Mirra Andreeva knows that she has to take on both Gracheva and the French crowd on Monday (June 3).

“It’s like a challenge for me” – Mirra Andreeva on facing her friend in the R4 of the 2024 French Open

Mirra Andreeva became the youngest player to reach the R16 in the major events on all three surfaces (i.e. clay, hard, and grass courts) since Anna Kournikova in 1998. She has also become the youngest to advance to the fourth round in Paris since Nicole Vaidisova in 2006. However, she doesn’t want to put much focus on these at the moment. All she now wants is to make her maiden QF appearance at the Grand Slam. So, before facing Varvara Gracheva, she spoke about the challenges she may face in that match.

“I know it’s going to be hard. Probably we’re going to play some big court. She’s French, you know, all this stuff. So it’s going to be pretty tough for me. Of course, the atmosphere, everyone will cheer for her. But I’m really excited about that match because it’s challenging for me,” Andreeva said in the post-match interview. For those who are unaware, Varvara Gracheva switched her citizenship from Russian to French last year. Interestingly, she’s now the only Frenchwoman standing at the 2024 French Open.

Can she keep the French hopes alive? Well, although Mirra Andreeva revealed she hasn’t shared many memories with Gracheva as of now, surely they’ll be looking forward to creating good memories from their first faceoff. Share your thoughts on this clash of two friends.