LeBron James noticed Mirra Andreeva mentioning him following her impressive Indian Wells triumph and the NBA giant responded by giving a special shout-out to the teenage sensation.
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On Sunday, the 17-year-old improved her winning streak to 12 and clinched back-to-back WTA 1000 titles in quite some style after coming back from a set down to beat world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-4 6-3.
Early in the final, Andreeva looked tight and nervous and it resulted in her easily losing the first set. Then, a James quote came to her mind. And that did wonders for the new world No. 6.
"He was saying that even if you don't play your 100%, or even if you don't feel like you're there 100% physically, I'm going to choose to be 100% mentally," she said on Tennis Channel after the final.
"He said that that's what makes us champions, so I kind of tried to do the same. It didn't really work in the beginning, but with some time, in the end, I managed to overcome that, really tried to go for my shots, and act like one of the legends."
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James reacts to Andreeva's recognition
James, a four-time NBA champion and a four-time NBA MVP, congratulated the 17-year-old Russian on her major success at a young age - and as he usually does when giving advice to athletes - he urged her to keep working hard.
"Mirra, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Happy to have helped but honestly YOU did THAT!! All your hard work, drive and dedication towards your craft! KEEP GOING!" the 40-year-old NBA superstar wrote on Instagram Story.
By beating Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek in her last two Indian Wells matches, Andreeva became the first player since Serena Williams in 1999 to beat the two top-ranked players in back-to-back clashes en route to winning a title.
