World No. 38 Mirra Andreeva commented on a disagreement she had with the umpire during her fourth-round match at the Rome Open against Clara Tauson, which she won with a score of 5/7, 6/3, 6/2.
Early in the third set, the court lights unexpectedly turned on during a rally. Tauson requested a video review. As a result, the chair umpire decided to replay the point, a ruling the young Russian player did not agree with.
“It wasn`t a very straightforward situation,” Andreeva explained. “It was on my serve: I served well, she returned it high, the lights came on right before I hit, and I played a forehand winner down the line. I felt like she realistically didn`t even have a chance to get it back, but she asked for a video review to check if the light came on before my shot, meaning during the rally.”
“The video review confirmed that it did, but in my opinion, I felt like they should have asked me if it bothered me because I was about to hit the ball. And in the end, I hit a winner, and I don`t think she had any chance to return it. But, probably, according to the rules, it was the more correct thing to do, so I just had to accept the situation and move on.”
When asked about playing on the famous Pietrangeli court for the first time, Andreeva shared her positive impressions.
“Yes, it`s my first match on this court, although I`ve practiced on it many times,” she said. “The court is incredibly cool, really beautiful. When I serve, I look at all the statues surrounding it, and the atmosphere makes you feel like you`re playing in Ancient Rome, perhaps in the Colosseum. Also, the crowd support is fantastic, so the overall atmosphere was super.”
Looking ahead to her upcoming quarterfinal rematch against Coco Gauff, whom she played the previous week in Madrid, Andreeva reflected on their last encounter.
“Yes, Madrid was a tough match,” she recalled. “I had two set points on my serve that I couldn`t convert. And, I think, after that, I started thinking too much about not being able to win.”
“But now it`s different conditions, a different match, so from the very beginning, I will try to adjust my tactics, play aggressively, focus on my game, and fight for every ball. And I hope the result will turn out a little differently this time, but we`ll see.”
Rupert Hartwell