17-year-old Mirra Andreeva and 20-year-old Diana Schneider shared their thoughts after reaching the final of the WTA 1000 women`s doubles tournament in Miami. They secured their spot by defeating Xin Yu Jiang and Fang-Hsien Wu in straight sets, 6-0, 7-5.
Post-Match Interview Excerpts
Question: Today`s match was late, finishing around ten in the evening. Do you prefer playing early morning or late evening? Are you generally morning people or night owls?
(In unison) – We are definitely not morning people!
Schneider: But we prefer to play in the morning.
Andreeva: I love to sleep in, of course. Here, we didn`t have a choice; the schedule was set, and we had to adapt our day to such a late match.
Question: What happened at 5/3 and 40/15 in your favor? And how difficult was it to recover and win after missing three match points?
Andreeva: I can imagine how tough it was for Diana to lose her serve. But honestly, on the first return down the line, I couldn`t really do anything. When they hit down the line again the second time, I flinched a little, but they both played well. It happens, but we quickly bounced back and managed to close out the match in two sets.
Question: The top-seeded pair Townsend – Siniakova was eliminated today, and earlier, the Errani – Paolini duo, who defeated you in the Paris Olympics final, also dropped out. Does this please you?
Schneider: I wouldn`t say there are any weak teams here. Only strong pairs remain at this stage. Our opponents defeated the top seeds, and that speaks for itself. It doesn`t matter who we play in the final – we are настроены (tuned in/focused) for a tough match. Of course, we have some insights, we know what to do. But we haven`t played against this pair and will watch and prepare. Whoever is in the final, the fight in it cannot be anything but difficult. We will need to fight and win!
In the final, the Russian players will face Cristina Bucșa of Spain and Miyu Kato of Japan.
