Cori Gauff full of praise of praise for Russian wunderkind Mirra Andreeva

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World No 6 Cori Gauff was full of praise for Russian wunderkind Mirra Andreeva following their French Open match. Gauff, who turned 19 in March, recovered from a set down to beat 16-year-old Andreeva 6-7 (5) 6-1 6-1 in the French Open third round.

Gauff was just 15 when she famously stunned Venus Williams at 2019 Wimbledon. This spring, Andreeva - who turned 16 in late April - clinched some notable wins at the French Open and a WTA 1000 event in Madrid.

Gauff full of praise for Andreeva

"I don't know, to be honest.

When I played against her, I didn't feel like she was lacking experience. Honestly, at the end of the first set it was weird. I don't know if it was the energy she was giving off or anything, wasn't really quite anything she did, but I had a feeling that, even though I lost that set, I felt like I won the set.

I knew in my head that I was playing the right way. I mean, 5-4 serving for it, 30-0 and she played great in the tiebreaker. I think I had two loose points and that matters in the tiebreaker. I can say probably experience played a factor, but honestly what it felt like on the court, it didn't feel like [it].

You know, I played two other people that were younger than me, and in one of those matches for sure I would say experience played a part, but I don't know if that meant today. I think she plays beyond her years, and I don't know, feels similar to how I was," Gauff said, via the WTA website.

In the first set, Gauff had a 5-4 lead and a chance to serve out for the first set but Andreeva got the break back and then stole the first set in a tie-break. After dropping a very tight first set, Gauff responded impressively in the second set as she earned back-to-back breaks in the fourth and sixth games to win five games in a row and force a decider.

In the third set, the two players were tied to one game apiece before Gauff won five games in a row to complete her comeback win over Andreeva.