Andreeva is turning 19 -- but she wishes she could stay 18

It's hard to believe that Mirra Andreeva is still a teenager.

Early last year she won Dubai as a 17-year-old, becoming the youngest WTA 1000 champion ever.

She remained a fixture in the Top 10 as an 18-year-old, and on Wednesday she will turn 19.

The World No. 8 is still one of the younger players on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, but she's a bit spooked about getting older, she admitted after beating Leylah Fernandez in the Madrid quarterfinals on Tuesday.

"Obviously I'm very excited for tomorrow," she said, "but at the same time I caught myself being a little bit sad. Because I don't want to be old, and I don't want to grow up. I want to just stay 18 and be a kid all the time. I feel like, obviously lately, time is going so fast, and I'm already going to turn 19."

Asked about how she's changed since first turning pro in 2022, Andreeva said she's still the same old Mirra, though she values alone time more than she used to.

"Before, even after matches, I would want to spend some time with my family to talk a lot, or to do something together," she said. "Now all I want to do is come back to the room and be alone, and just do something with myself -- read a book, watch a TV series, just be on my phone. I don't want to talk to people.

"So maybe that's how I'm changing. Other than that, I feel like I'm still the same Mirra that was here a couple of years ago."

Andreeva won't have a match on her big day, hopefully giving her ample time to celebrate, but she'll return to the court on Thursday for her semifinal match. She'll play either World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or 30th seed Hailey Baptiste. (Maybe she'll sing Happy Birthday to herself in her on-court interview if she wins. Fingers crossed.)

Prior to beating Fernandez, she picked up wins over Panna Udvardy, Dalma Galfi and Anna Bondar. 

She's now 11-1 during the Clay-Court swing, and is looking for her third title of the season after winning Adelaide in January and Linz earlier this month.