Mirra Andreeva has been making headlines on and off the court over the last few days and now she has made a revelation that confirms she is eager to take her game to the next level with the inspiration of the very best.

Andreeva was caught up in a media storm after her WTA Finals rival Jessica Pegula was caught on a hot mic describing her as a ‘diva’.

The French Open champion has also come under scrutiny for the designer dress she wore for the official WTA Finals photo shoot, with one Tennis Podcast host, Catherine Whitaker, saying the teenager wore an outfit more suitable for a mature lady.

Andreeva would prefer to let her tennis do the talking from this point forward and she has revealed that her pre-match routine for a tournament being staged at Indian Wells involves watching footage of one of the all-time great tennis matches.

The Russian started her WTA Finals campaign impressively with a convincing win against Elina Svitolina and she opened the lid on one of her pre-match rituals that is clearly offering her inspiration.

More Tennis News

When asked about how she deals with pressure during an interview on the Tennis Channel, Andreeva stated she watches highlights of Roger Federer’s epic win against Rafael Nadal in the 2017 Australian Open final as part of her pre-match ritual.

“I speak with my psychologist and I kind of warm up my mind before I go into the match,” she said. “For example, it might seem weird, but I watch Roger Federer’s highlights in against Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final in 2017.

“I know every point they are going to play because I watch it before every single match, so it’s kinda like my routine.

“When I look at Roger, I want to feel like it’s effortless. Also seem like nothing is bothering me on the court and that’s one of the things I’m going to do to get ready for a match.”

Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.

The match Andreeva refers to is one of the most iconic of the modern era, as Swiss maestro Federer came back from a period of injury to defeat his great rival in a five-set epic.

Federer’s legendary cool demeanour on court is clearly a quality in his game that Andreeva is keen to replicate, with the youngster often battling her emotions when matches get tight.