Murray jokes Andreeva wants her ‘eyes mounted’ after ‘lovely’ remark

Andy Murray sparked a frenzy amongst his followers with a self-deprecating joke on social media after teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva referred to as him ‘lovely’. The pair’s fortunes have contrasted on the Madrid Open, with Murray crashing out on the first hurdle and Andreeva taking a number of huge scalps en path to the Round of 16.

Andreeva, who began the match at 15 years outdated, acquired a wildcard into the primary draw of the Madrid Open and commenced in spectacular trend, beating former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in straight units.

Things solely progressed from there because the Russian, who solely turned 16 on Saturday, beat two top-20-ranked opponents in Beatriz Haddad Maia and Magda Linette to arrange a mouthwatering showdown with Aryna Sabalenka within the subsequent spherical.

As one of many sizzling matters of the match, Andreeva was requested about her expertise thus far in Spain, which sparked a praise in direction of three-time Grand Slam champion Murray.

“It’s just the atmosphere here is so special,” she said. “When you are here and you take lunch with all these stars… You see Andy Murray and you see his face, he’s so beautiful in real life. He is so amazing. The atmosphere to be here amongst all these players is just incredible.”

Murray picked up on the interview when a video was posted to social media, responding: “Imagine how good she’s going to be when she gets her eyes fixed [laughing emoji].”

“Certainly the beginning of the clay season hasn’t been that easy for me, but normally after a few weeks, I start to feel better and play better,” he mentioned. “Obviously last year, I’m not saying I came here and played unbelievable tennis straightaway, but I was playing well enough to win matches… against good players, top players.

“Whilst I really feel match and wholesome, I want to give [the French Open] a go. But I even have ambitions of competing for Wimbledon titles and that type of stuff and, I do know that sitting right here right this moment that most likely would not sound sensible, however I do consider that that is a chance.”