Andreeva's lucky charm helps her into French Open's last 16
Mirra Andreeva said she knew she had to fight for every ball and get the drop shots. (AP pic)
PARIS : Mirra Andreeva had her lucky charm on her bench for her third-round clash against Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva, but left her opponent no chance in a 6-3 6-1 victory on Saturday.
The sixth seed, who won the Indian Wells and Dubai top-tier tournaments this year, set up a meeting with Australia's Daria Kasatkina.
'I knew Yulia is a very tricky player, she has an interesting game and it's uncomfortable for me. She likes to cut the rhythm a lot, I knew it would be tough,' the 18-year-old said on Court Suzanne Lenglen as umbrellas popped open in the stands on a grey Parisian morning.
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'I kind of knew what to expect I knew I had to play at 100% and fight for every ball and get those drop shots. I'm happy with the way I play today.'
Andreeva, who reached the semi-finals here last year, also attributed her win to a present she received.
'When I was walking on court, a little girl put a drawing on my bench, I kept it. It's my lucky charm,' she said.
'Wherever that little girl is, I want to thank her because it is my lucky charm.'
Despite an inconsistent serve with four double faults, Andreeva bagged the opening set with a blistering forehand winner for her third break of serve.
Putintseva tried to mix it up with drop shots but Andreeva's baseline power proved too much to handle and the Russian broke for 2-1 after a brief rain interruption.
It was game over effectively as she went on to win the remaining four games.
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