Mirra Andreeva, the youngest player in the WTA’s top 300, on Thursday qualified for the French Open main draw and then hoped her elder sister could make it a family double.
Andreeva, ranked No. 143, beat top seed in qualifying Camila Osorio of Colombia 7-6 (10/8), 6-4.
The Russian hit the headlines earlier this month when she reached the fourth round of the Madrid Open where she turned 16.
Photo: AFP
Her 18-year-old sister Erika, ranked No. 147, was due to face Serbia’s Olga Danilovic yesterday.
“Its been one of our dreams to play a big tournament together,” Mirra Andreeva told the French Open Web site. “As all sisters we used to fight a lot over the smallest things, for the TV remote, who will switch the channel. Let’s say now we’re grown-ups, we really appreciate each other and appreciate the time together on tour.”
Also making the main draw for the French Open, which gets underway tomorrow, was Elizabeth Mandlik, whose mother, Hana Mandlikova, was the women’s singles champion in 1981.
American Mandlik, ranked No. 118, beat Laura Pigossi 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam for the third time.
Former world No. 10 Lucas Pouille, whose ranking has slumped to No. 670 after a long battle with physical problems and depression, made the main draw of the men’s singles by seeing off Austria’s Jurij Rodionov 1-6, 7-5, 6-0.
“It’s a great emotion, when I see all my family, my friends on the court. It’s liberation,” said Pouille, a semi-finalist at the Australian Open in 2019. “It comforts me to know that I still have a lot of things to give and to do in this sport. I am extremely proud of myself, extremely happy today, for me, and for all the people who have been helping me for months trying to get back.”
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