With press conference prank, the Andreeva-Martinez partnership wins again

To win the Roland Garros final against an opponent she'd never seen play before, Mirra Andreeva needed to take her coach's advice, listen to the scouting report, and apply the feedback. But even after conquering the Grand Slam tournament with comparative ease, there was one question that she still needed Conchita Martinez to answer.

What is the best thing [about] working with Mirra Andreeva?

As the International Tennis Hall of Famer and Andreeva's coach of just over two years sat on the press conference dais about her charge's straight-sets win over Maja Chwalinska in the French Open women's final on Saturday, a familiar voice piped up from the back of the room. Not from a member of the traveling press, but from Andreeva herself.

The room burst into laughter. So did Martinez.

“The best thing of working with Mirra Andreeva is we get to play UNO, and I [am] always winning,” she said. “So that's the best thing, when I win, you know, against her in UNO.”

Once a competitor, always a competitor, it seemed. But Andreeva, unsatisfied with the answer considering she just became the third-youngest woman since 2000 to win a major title in singles, humorously fired back: “That's it? Have fun.”

“I'm fired,” the Spaniard joked in response.

The light-hearted moment represented more than just a press conference prank. It was a microcosm of what has made the player-coach partnership between the former Wimbledon champion and the precocious talent so successful, even through adversity.

Martinez previously spoke about the hard work behind Andreeva's somewhat long-awaited triumph. She described a teenager who had learned to manage her emotions, embrace difficult conversations and remain open to change -- all with the world watching. There had been “ups and downs,” and moments when Andreeva's attitude could be “difficult," she said.

But Martinez said that through it all Andreeva was willing to listen and learn -- and that trait will hold her in good stead as she chases more big trophies.

“Great kudos to her,” Martinez said. “When she works hard and when she listens and she does everything, you know, she has no limits. So sky is the limit.”

"Even though she won Roland Garros here, there's still a very long way to go," she continued.

"Are we going to see her the whole time like this? I really wish, and I really hope, but I'm sure there's going to be ups and downs. As long as she can continue to learn and to get better, we need to improve in many -- I mean, she still have a big room for improvement in every department. So I'm super excited for the future."

The admiration between player and coach runs both ways.

"It's very, very nice to share something like this with her and see how happy she is," Andreeva said. "Also, she told me she's very proud of me. To hear those words from her is very, very special to me."

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