Andreeva and Martinez find their groove in a fast-forming coaching duo

INDIAN WELLS — They’re walking briskly down the long, broad hall of their desert hotel — almost on the verge of skipping — talking quickly, laughing. Eyes gleaming, Mirra Andreeva and Conchita Martinez have the distinct air of co-conspirators.

Which they are, for in the space of less than a year this unique collaboration of player and coach has already reached the upper echelons of women’s tennis. The 17-year-old Andreeva just won the title in Dubai and is the youngest woman to reach the Top 10 in 18 years. Martinez is 35 years her senior but, on so many levels, they clearly share a vibe. More than teacher/pupil or parent/child, this one feels like the cool aunt and her irrepressible niece.

“From the first moments, it was a very good fit,” Martinez, sitting in the players’ lounge at the BNP Paribas Open, told wtatennis.com. “We enjoy each other, and a lot of the same things. We joke a lot, which is always nice. She is playful and I can follow her because I’m kind of playful, too.

“But, at the same time, we know when we need to be serious and go to work.”

Andreeva seconds all of this.

“Since the first tournament that we had together, I just felt like I knew her for so long,” Andreeva said. “It just felt super natural to be on the court with her and off the court, as well. I hope that she feels the same way about this.”

On Friday night, Andreeva defeated Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 6-4. Trailing 4-0 in the second set, Andreeva won the last six games of the match to set up a third-round match against Clara Tauson, who she beat in last month’s Dubai final.

Martinez, a former Wimbledon champion, has established an impressive resume as a coach. She helped guide Garbiñe Muguruza to the 2017 Wimbledon title and four years later in a second stint won the WTA Coach of the Year award. In between, she worked with Karolina Pliskova when she was a Top 10 player.

After losing in the first round here last year and withdrawing from Miami, Andreeva was in the market for a coach. Her IMG agent, familiar with her work with Muguruza, also an IMG client, suggested Martinez.

“Of course, when I heard the name `Conchita Martinez’ in tennis,” Andreeva said, “I was like, `Oh, OK, let’s try this, it’s going to be interesting.’ ”

In early April, Martinez joined Andreeva in Rouen, France, and they practiced for a few days before the tournament there. At No. 43 in the PIF WTA Rankings, Andreeva lost in the quarterfinals.

“So far, so good,” Andreeva said. “We will see how it will go.”

Keeping `feet on the floor’

Their trajectories are eerily similar, which might explain why this partnership is working so well.

Martinez turned professional in 1988 at the age of 16 — and reached the fourth round at Roland Garros in only her third tournament at the tour level. Andreeva was 15 when she made a massive stir two years ago in Madrid, beating Grand Slam finalist Leylah Fernandez and Top 20 players Beatriz Haddad Maia and Magda Linette.

At 17, Martinez won three titles and reached the quarterfinals in Paris, losing to Steffi Graf. She finished the year ranked No. 7 — the first of 14 straight year-end Top 10 finishes. Last month, Andreeva collected a WTA 1000 title and rose to a career-high No. 9 ranking.

Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion, went on to win 33 singles titles and was enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2020. She was especially lethal on clay, winning Rome four years running, from 1993-96.

In her dealings with Andreeva, does it help to have been there?

“Yeah, of course,” Martinez said, “I use that a lot. It helps because you have the experience. You did sort of the same path. You remember how you did things. What helped? What didn’t help? What worked? What didn’t work?

“I broke into the Top 10 very fast, and since we started, she’s already there — boom! Now, we just have to keep the feet on the floor.”

Andreeva, according to Martinez, was already a remarkably complete player when they got together. With a sturdy 5-foot-9 frame (and growing?), Martinez knew movement would be a key component of her game.

“Yeah, she’s very fast but I focus a lot on the footwork,” Martinez said. “To move with more intensity in the legs. When you do that, your shots are going to be better.

“Also the forehand needs to be a powerful weapon. Her backhand is always going to be there, but at this level, you need to win points with the forehand. Serve is solid, powerful. She’s getting better and better — and her body is still changing.”

And while the outside world focuses on the growing diversity in Andreeva’s game — Martinez’ signature slice is an occasional feature — Martinez’s accrued wisdom might be more meaningful off the court.

“Of course, if she wouldn’t give me some great advices,” Andreeva said, “I don’t think I would be playing on such a high level.”

Once they started working together, a curious Andreeva pulled up video of Martinez’ Wimbledon triumph.

“I told her,” Andreeva said, “then she got a little bit red. I think she was happy that I watched the final. She played not bad, actually. I watched some more matches of her playing when she lost in the semifinal in some other Slam, and she was, like, `Oh, no, don’t watch that match, no.’ But I did anyway.”

A two-way street

Of course she did — she’s a teenager, one of only two in the Hologic WTA Tour Top 100.

Here’s the fine line that Andreeva is walking: At 17, in a highly visible profession, she’s generally aware that there’s a lot she doesn’t know. It’s just that there are specific instances when it doesn’t matter.

“We can be hard on each other,” Andreeva said. “I know that she’s my coach, that I have to be respectful, that I have to listen to what she says.

“I remember a few times it was … I was a bit on the limit. But yeah, I’ve learned the hard way that on the court we’re not friends, she’s my coach. She helps me to win. It’s just going to stay like this.”

Martinez appreciates Andreeva’s respect, understanding her role in the relationship and suffering the perhaps too-frequent references to back in the day.

“Some people maybe they’re like …” Martinez said, shrugging and rolling her eyes. “She knows what I’m going to say, that it worked before. She makes it clear to everybody, `OK, I’m in Conchita’s hands. I will follow her instructions.’”

Andreeva, ever the jokester, isn’t afraid to make fun of herself.

“I have to do what she tells me to do,” she told reporters earlier this year, “because otherwise I’m in trouble. Of course, I’m going to be turning 18 soon, so, yes, I am becoming an old woman unfortunately. I’m becoming older and I hope smarter.”