The Olympic tennis tournament for Russian fans turned out to be even more unexpected and fun than we expected. Diana Schneider and Mirra Andreeva, silver medallists in pairs and one of the main sensations of the competition, gave many good emotions for themselves and for the tennis world.
On the way to the final, the Russians defeated four top seeds at once and in the decisive match they fought off the experienced and powerful Italians Yasmin Paolini and Sara Errani. Our girls played very well from the start and this is partly due to Schneider.
Related materials
“I was taught to be a patriot of the country.” What you need to know about Olympic finalist Schneider
Diana became one of the major discoveries of these Olympic Games.
First of all, she showed herself on the court as a real leader. Schneider is three years older and has more experience than her partner Mirra. This contributed to the fact that Diana more often played a leading role in the pair. For example, the girls told how they dealt with psychological stress during the semi-final match against Spaniards Cristina Buksha and Sara Sorribes-Tormo.
Andreeva: I was more nervous than usual. We won the first three matches only because Diana scored everything in the net. I tried to just play on the court, but I was a bit rushed.
Schneider: But she quickly loosened her grip and came back to me!
Andreeva: It was stressful, but it wasn’t a big mistake after Diana wrote everything down. So I recovered and then it became easier mentally.
– Diane, weren’t you nervous?
Schneider: Yes, indeed! But I understood that Mirra would be nervous. We had to show her that nothing bad would happen: if we lost the first games, we would still get back into the game. I understood that our partner played better technically and in all other criteria. I knew that everything would work out. We just need to support each other.
Andreeva: Diana is an electric broom!
Diana Schneider and Mirra Andreeva
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
Secondly, Schneider boldly took on the leading role during the match. At times she approached the net more boldly, attacked more often and made fewer unforced errors. Diana really captivated us with her active actions, emancipation and successful tactical decisions. She steadfastly resisted the skirmishes at the net and threw sails to her opponents in time, allowing Mirra to seize the initiative.
This was confirmed by Russia’s top coach, Viktor Yanchuk, following the results of the Paris Games.
“It is difficult to blame our girls. This is their debut. Mirra still lacks physical strength – she is only 17 years old. Schneider played more actively. But it was not enough for two. However, everything will come. The girls deserve the highest praise for the silver medal,” Yanchuk said in an interview with the “Championship” program.
Thirdly, Schneider proved to be a reserved and mature girl for her age. At the press conference after her defeat in the final, Diana took responsibility and analysed the reasons for her failure.
“It was my mistake that I got angry when they didn’t take my serve away at 40-0 at the start of the second game. I took it seriously, even though it seemed like it was only 1-0. They took advantage of this,” the Russian admitted to reporters.
Related materials
Schneider and Andreeva did not win gold, but they gave a sense of life. It is much more expensive
Schneider has been showing excellent results throughout the current season. By the middle of the year, Diana had already won four titles: at the WTA-125 tournaments in Paris, the WTA-250 in Hua Hin and Budapest and the WTA-500 in Bad Homburg. Therefore, her results at the Olympic Games did not cause much of a sensation. And yet, getting to know Diana from a new, human side was interesting and very pleasant.
